Millennium Stadium sees the light

Since achieving iconic status hosting worldwide events such as the FA Cup, Carling Cup and Heineken Cup Finals, and legendary concerts featuring U2, Madonna and Oasis, the Millennium Stadium has cemented its reputation as the top multi-event facility on the world stage. Yet one recurring challenge faced by the Cardiff amphitheatre, since opening its doors and sliding roof for the first time on June 26th 1999, is maintenance of the highest standards of pitch quality.

The design and nature of the Millennium Stadium is simply not conducive to growing grass, and various measures have been employed to circumvent this problem. The steep sided bowl, which creates such excellent sight lines for fans, has the side-effect of producing hostile conditions for the pitch; preventing sufficient light or air movement from reaching it.

Previous solutions have included bringing in a new pitch on demand per event but the Stadium has employed a new lamp system throughout February and achieved a near perfect ‘microclimate’, providing sufficient heat and light to encourage growth which was showcased in Sunday’s Carling Cup Final between Chelsea and Arsenal.

Green energy suppliers npower are backing the trial and providing all funding for the operation of the lighting rigs. Coupled with a 24hr-a-day vigil from head groundsman, Lee Evans and his team, the results have shown that the Millennium Stadium surface has responded positively.

“The lights are making a visible and very real difference to the playing surface both above and below the turf,” commented Evans. “Below the turf, the roots are now anchoring into the rootzone which increases the stability of the playing surface.

“At grass level, the plant grown under the lights is able to recover quickly from wear and tear and is also starting to tiller (throw out new shoots). This results in a thicker, denser, healthier grass.”

Millennium Stadium bosses are looking into a variety of tactics to solve their grass challenge. The playing surface currently in use was brought in from Holland and has a unique quality giving it a high resistance to shade. The two-years-young light innovation technology, currently used by the likes of the Emirates Stadium, Twickenham and Whitehart Lane, looks to be a strong contender to form part of the pitch growth solution.

“We are, quite literally, leaving no stone unturned in our search for the answer to the Millennium Stadium’s well-known grass-growing challenge,” said Roger Lewis the Group Chief Executive of the Stadium’s owners the Welsh Rugby Union.

“There is no doubting that we have a magnificent multi-event venue which has the versatility to host a wide spectrum of events here in the City centre of Cardiff. Yet we feel we can improve on perfection and an established, flourishing playing surface would be one way of doing that.

“We can already offer the complete package to any event which wants to use the Millennium Stadium’s facilities and the current solution we use for events requiring optimum quality grass, is to bring in a new pitch.

“If we can move away from that ‘quick fix’ solution and establish a surface which suits the Millennium Stadium environment or change the environment to suit the surface, we will find it easier to reach our own high standards of event delivery in the future.”

In summary, the lights are making a difference to the playing surface both above and below the turf

Below the turf, the roots are now anchoring into the rootzone which will give us a more stable playing surface

At grass level, the plant grown under the lights is able to recover quickly from wear and tear and is also starting to tiller (throw out new shoots). This results in a thicker, denser, healthier sward. Away from the lights, the grass is already starting to thin out