English soccer side Derby County FC has installed a brand-new hybrid playing surface, which it claims is revolutionary and is one of the biggest changes in sport surfaces in 20 years.
At the club’s Moor Farm Training Centre, UK-based company Talbot Sports Turf has installed Powergrass on an academy pitch, which is said to offer increased traction, stability, softness and robustness.
Developed in Italy, the Powergrass hybrid carpet features a bespoke root zone as part of a system which is said to improve the growing environment as well as reportedly boasting more synthetic fiber filaments per foot than rival products. Its patented backing to the carpet is also key to its performance.
“One of the issues with hybrid carpets is the ability to be renovated at end of the season,” said Sean Goodwin, director of Talbot Sports Turf.
“If a hybrid carpet does not have very good tuft-lock, synthetic fibers will be removed when old grass is taken out. We are delighted to say that the tuft-lock of Powergrass is the highest available on the world market.
“It is also the only carpet with tri-colored fibers which ensures it marries into the grass sward as well as possible.”
The hybrid turf has already been installed at a public sports pitch in London’s Regent’s Park and is the first of its kind at an outdoor public facility.
