Spring weather changes cause challenges for replacing artificial grass.
The replacement of the artificial grass in Kuopio’s central field started on Monday. The field’s estimated completion time is three weeks, but preparations have been made for the work to take longer.
– A week, one and a half more time has been allocated for the work, because it is spring and the temperature is going up and down, says the responsible foreman Kai Aho.
According to Aho, the average temperature must stay above five in order to be able to do work normally. Rainfall in particular hinders the gluing of artificial grass carpet seams.
During the first week of work, grit and sand are removed from the old artificial turf.
– When the carpet is empty, so to speak, it is cut, rolled and taken away.
The old artificial turf will be made into a practice playing surface, and it will be moved to the Litmanen ball field.
– No official games are played there, but there may very well be junior games. However, not those from the second division and above.
The city of Kuopio will pay about 230,000 euros for the new artificial turf.
The football field is inspected annually
Fitness tests are performed on the soccer field every year, based on which the decision to renew the artificial turf is made. A field must meet certain characteristics to be accepted.
– The test mainly examines the rolling and bouncing of the ball on the field.
According to Aho, the lifespan of artificial grass is four to five years on average. The artificial turf used on training fields may last up to ten years.
– The current carpet was replaced three or four years ago, which was an unusually short interval.
Kuopio’s ball field has a high utilization rate, which is why it is changed more often.
– The field is used up to 3,000 hours a year, so the wear and tear is particularly hard on this carpet.
The KuPS men’s team will only play away games until the field is completed. KuPS women have their next home match on May 9 at the central field. Aho believes that the match will be played as planned.
– We’ll definitely make it. We have exact schedules and strict instructions on how to go.