Sports & Leisure Facilities

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Inspect First - Then Refurbish

In recent years, the number of artificial pitches used to practise sports has continued to increase, largely replacing old surfaces such as ...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Microplastics on artificial turf pitches – EU Commission decides on regulatory measures

More than four years after the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) published its proposal to restrict microplastic emissions, the EU Commission proposed in a committee ...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Meeting the challenges – artificial turf pitches of the future

Finding the right type of sports surfacing is a frequent subject of discussion. In the case of football pitches, the only question in recent years has been whether to use natural turf or synthetic turf. Often, the latter option...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Physical activity in the context of demographic change - sports facilities for older adults

It will hardly have escaped anyone's notice that the age structure of our society has changed considerably in recent decades. Or to put it in a nutshell: the average age is constantly rising. The underlying sociological reasons will not be ...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Sport in the city – why providing more opportunities for physical activity will also benefit society as a whole

For many people, sport and exercise are part of their everyday lives and key to a long and healthy life. However, many others tend to be sedentary, and the level of daily physical activity among children is also steadily decreasing. It is the constant state of change our world is in, especially technical progress, that is the cause of this problem. Yet this process is ...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Streetball and basketball – outdoor recreational sports classics

Compared to many other sports, basketball is still relatively new. Invented in the United States in 1891 by an educator named James Naismith, this sport was intended to be an alternative to other ball sports that require physical contact between players. Today, basketball is ...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Inclusive sports and inclusive sports facilities – still a long way to go

Inclusion and inclusive infrastructure design are still very topical issues. On the one hand, this is very positive and shows that people are aware of the issue and also want to promote it. On the other hand, however, it also shows that we are not making as much progress as we would like to and that there are still clear deficits.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Focus on sports infrastructure - challenges for the 2020s

For many years now, the state and requirements of the sports infrastructure in Germany have been the subject of discussion, usually revealing a considerable lack of modernization and a refurbishment backlog. And although we are seeing many new installations and successful modernizations in many places, unfortunately...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Sports surfaces – options for the future

Current political developments, especially with regard to planned environmental and climate protection requirements, have recently unsettled many key players in the planning and operation of sports facilities. New issues have been raised with regard to sports surfaces, especially when it comes to...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Slacklining infrastructure for a modern form of exercise / sport in urban spaces

What is a slackline park? And what infrastructure does it require?

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Sports Field Construction and Environmental Issues – Focusing on Plastics and Microplastics

Environmental protection is not only a challenge nowadays, but it is becoming a responsibility for each and every one of us. Human civilization’s negative impact on nature is becoming more and more substantial. This also includes...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Sports fields in times of climate change – new challenges when it comes to planning and maintenance

Climate change is no longer an ominous future threat, but a reality. The increasing frequency of extreme weather events, such as the recent heatwave in western North America or the severe flooding in southern and western Germany and neighbouring countries, is a clear...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Unique bike park built in Darmstadt

The facility of the "Die Stadtmauer" BMX club, which had been there since 1992, had to make way for a new school building. It was decided to build the new facility...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

The Urban Sports Park concept – how to turn niche sports into something that attracts a wide range of users

Fitness park, youth leisure park, multigenerational park, family park, sports park: more and more frequently, you come across various labels for park concepts that provide...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Aren’t skate parks supposed to cater to everyone? Different sports equipment and ever-increasing numbers of users are causing massive conflicts

Whether in Bayreuth, Gießen, Tuttlingen or Jena - numerous German cities are seeing an increase in the number of conflicts in municipal skate parks. After several accidents,...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Sport in the park – exercise opportunities for recreational athletes

Parks and green spaces have been among the most popular leisure and recreational facilities in cities and municipalities for more than 200 years. The idea of bringing nature and landscape into the usually densely populated urban areas has produced a large ...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

A multitude of sports in one place – multi-purpose sports facilities

“Multi-purpose” – this may sound like a major technical challenge, but when it comes to sports facility planning, it simply means that it is possible to engage in a wide range ...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Integrated sport development planning – an old/new method of promoting urban exercise spaces

Exercise is important and it is more than appropriate to point out that humans have been designed to move. Daily exercise is thus essential – and the consequences of lack of exercise are already generally known. However, far too few ...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

The evolution of sport during a pandemic

Closed sports centres, cancelled sports courses, prohibition of team games, sport with social distancing – many of those wishing to be physically active had to review their options in 2020. In the following is a consideration of whether 2020 will prove to be an exception in the way it has influenced sporting activities or whether we will see a permanent change in how sport is perceived in future.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Safe sports fields – how operators can prevent accidents

As a member of the board of a sports club, you are already halfway to prison, they say. The phrase is exaggerated, of course, but there is always a shred of truth in statements such as these. Perhaps even more than...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Development trends in the use of sport spaces - building blocks for a sustainable sports space infrastructure

Sports spaces provide the tangible basis for local exercise activities. If cities and local au-thorities had no special areas and did not design and promote sports and exercise spaces in conjunction with other...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Synthetic turf systems – current developments

Over the last 30 years, synthetic turf systems have become a reference solution for ball sports globally. “Less or no impact on climate”, “More durable than natural systems” are statements used to promote the systems. In Europe, ....

Sports & Leisure Facilities

The future of artificial turf sport surfacings – political developments

As already reported in the past, the EU Commission is planning to introduce significantly tightened requirements in the form of a new regulation designed to avoid environmental pollution with microplastics. This will also...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Environment, climate, sustainability – challenges for the sports facility of today and tomorrow

Although the current coronavirus pandemic has to some extent silenced last year's climate debates, environmental, climate and sustainability issues remain among the greatest challenges...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Climate-friendly and environmentally-sensitive synthetic sports turf – requirements and opportunities in development

Last year's discussions about the environmental sustainability of synthetic sports turf surfaces undoubtedly remain fresh in many people's minds. And it was not ...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Longevity cuts costs - tips for optimal sports facility maintenance

Sports facility maintenance is an area that continues to receive scant attention, in particular when it comes to facilities that are not used for elite sport. However, the regular and expert...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Fit in the holidays – exercise areas for active holidaymakers

Sport on holiday? While for some this amounts at most to a game of beach tennis or a couple of lengths of the hotel pool, for a growing number of people sport is the focal point of their annual holidays. From skiing to hiking, cycle touring to canoe trips – there are many...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

It doesn't always have to be a stadium - compact exercise modules for public use

The provision of good and attractive sport and exercise facilities should be an important aspect of all infrastructure planning by towns and local authorities. But there is a widely diverse range of...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Athletics in the spotlight - why there is a lack of successful facilities which we nevertheless need

"Faster, higher, further" – in athletics the natural and essential motion sequences of running, throwing and jumping familiar for millennia are elevated into defined sporting sequences. In Ancient...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

A skatepark near the waves of the Baltic Sea

The town of Scharbeutz is on the Baltic Sea between Timmendorfer Strand and the island of Fehmarn. It is situated in a unique landscape, with the sea lapping against the land and the wind whistling through the...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

A state-of-the-art skatepark in the Olympic Park

Complete renovation of the 'Stonepark' in Munich

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Public sport facilities - what does their future look like?

Renovation backlogs, sustainability, climate change - there are many factors today that impinge on public sport facilities. As for their future, there are certain elements that are already playing a role and will become even more relevant...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Money for sports grounds - how clubs secure financing

A good infrastructure is essential for every sports club. Whilst some clubs pursue their activities on communal sports grounds, others have owned and leased their own facilities for decades. Whilst self-reliance offers these clubs more autonomy...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Just do it!

Organized sport in a club brings people together across borders and generations. However, being able to actually implement this principle in all areas of sport can sometimes turn into a challenge – for example when...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Disposal of artificial turf systems – recycling rather than incineration

Artificial turf pitches have elevated amateur football in Germany and Europe to a new level in recent years. Long gone in many places are the times of...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Sustainability on the football pitch ‒ how old synthetic turf is becoming part of the new playing surface in Rotterdam

At the new Sportcampus Rotterdam the young footballers are playing on synthetic turf pitches with granules produced from recycled synthetic turf.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Parkour facilities – attractive spaces for traceurs

Although developed over 30 years ago, it is only in recent years that the "sport" of parkour has become a popular leisure pursuit with a large community of fans. This type of movement, which involves participants attempting ...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Infill granules in the spotlight: the future of artificial turf sports facilities

There has been a great deal of commotion recently about a planned EU-wide ban on artificial turf infill granules.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Sport facility surfacings in comparison – what is suitable where?

Sports grounds need to be such that they enable users to practice their preferred form of sport with enjoyment and comfort.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Kickabout areas and small-scale pitches – enjoying sport "around the corner"

They're where legends are born. Everyone is familiar with the small, often completely enclosed sports courts that were typically built at the heart of housing estates and where football and basketball can be played in a very tight space

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Winter-proof sports facilities - remaining active during the cold months of the year

It often arrives more quickly than expected - the first frost. Although winter days are significantly milder as a result of climate warming, winter hasn't disappeared completely. But the severity of the season varies significantly by region. Whilst in some areas large volumes of snow are completely normal, elsewhere conditions are simply cold and frosty.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Artificial turf pitches – when does the surface need replacing?

Artificial turf in the sports field sector continues to boom. The high number of hours of use, weather resistance and competition between clubs are all reasons for a further increase in the number of artificial turf pitches being installed. ...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Community sports planning – how many sports fields are enough?

Almost all sporLangtextts authorities have the aim of achieving a the most varied and widely positioned range of sports facilities of highest possible quality in their own community. This naturally, in accord with the means at hand, existing sports clubs and the area available. But the growing number of sports and sporting trends does not make this planning any easier and the demands of the various clubs are a further additional factor. ...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Health risks at the sports ground? – A closer look at use of SBR granules

SBR granules used in artificial turf pitches have been subject to criticism for some time now. This is mainly due to the potentially carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) which they contain. Awareness of...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Noise protection for sports facilities – Guidelines and implementation

Sport is of outstanding socio-political importance and holds a position of great significance. Unfortunately, noise from sporting events is usually caused during the periods when quiet is generally expected and as such, causes conflict with neighbours.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Plenty of sports in one place

A wide range of sports on offer is welcomed in many places and for this reason, in many cities and communities a large number of sporting possibilities are available...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Care of sports fields – optimal maintenance of artificial turf pitches

Artificial turf pitches can be subjected to intensive use throughout the year. To ensure that the technical sport properties are maintained,...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

"Green Clay" – How clay courts can quickly become natural grass pitches

Clay courts are to the greatest possible extent obsolete. Although held in high regard by communities and sports facility operators due their nearly unlimited life...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Beach Volleyball on 13 courts in Munich

For the first time in the history of beach volleyball, the student world championships 2018 will be held at the Technical University of Munich. A new beach sport infrastructure with 13 beach volleyball pits was recently completed for this 9th...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

FV Steinmauern sets itself apart from competitors with a cork filling

New artificial turf pitch convinces with optimal ball play and rolling behaviour

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Stadium Hemsbach – A new sports landscape with an artificial turf pitch is being created

The sports facilities at Hemsbach, Germany, were originally a natural grass pitch with a cinder circumference running track, clay and grass surfaces as well as a further clay pitch and a full size natural grass pitch. A section...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Living and doing sport in a city - on reconciliation of interests between sport development and noise protection

Living and sport are significant elements of urbanity and quality of life in our cities. They are uses which supplement each other and which must be possible in locations near each other. After publication of the Leipzig Charta...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Noise protection ? – Recognising the socio-political importance of sport

Why reform of the sports facility noise directive is urgently necessary, how associations are campaigning for this and which steps are now necessary.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

The Sport and Leisure-time Park Rems

Since 2012, Schorndorf – also called Daimler City as it is the birth place of Gottlieb Daimler, inventor of the petrol engine, is building a sporting facility to satisfy the most modern demands. Covering an area of around 100.000 m², the Sport Park Rems will offer a range of sport and leisure-time activities...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Artificial turf, hybrid turf or natural grass? – Finding the right surface for the sports ground

Conversion of sports fields and football pitches in particular is a very current trend. Following the many conversions in the last years and the modern sports fields created in this way, the clubs involved have been able as a rule to generate many new members and to become better positioned in the sport...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Granulate filler – Impulse generator on an artificial turf pitch

Playing fields with artificial turf continue to gain popularity. Decisive for the quality of an artificial turf playing surface are not only the yarns used, treatment of the surface and correct installation, but also the loose components such as sand and granulate fillers...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Sustainable sports facility maintenance – long lasting and environmentally compatible

It is no secret that good sports facilities need good maintenance. And yet it can be seen again and again that the definition of "good and sustainable maintenance" differs greatly in many cases. Above all the as "easy care" advertised artificial turf pitches often suggests...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

KGSt Sports Facilities Comparison Report – Support for sustainable sport facility management

Since 2012, member towns in the nationwide German intercommunal performance comparison circle for sports facilities have exchanged key figures and experience involved with the construction and operation of community sport centres. Together with the advisory office KGSt...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Local authority funding for sport – What must? What should? What can?

Local authority funding remains the largest and most important source of support for nearly all sports clubs and leisure sport associations. Despite this fact, in many places there is hardly sufficient funding to make optimal support of local sport possible. Which obligations do communities have with regard to sport? And what possible alternatives exist when there are no sufficient funds available to finance sport?

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Modernisation of the Brentanobad stadium in Frankfurt, Germany

Along with the two major arenas where the home games of the German premier league teams Eintracht and FSV Frankfurt are carried out, the German city of Frankfurt am Main also has a further stadium...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

"Sports clubs – ideal partners for outdoor sport and exercise facilities?"

First a quick review: For more than 45 years, the mascot 'TRIMMY' has represented exercise. At that time, at the start of the 1970s, the German sports association (Deutsche Sportbund, DSB), the predecessor of today's German Olympic Sports Confederation (Deutschen Olympischen Sportbundes, DOSB)...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Certified Greenkeeper / agronomist for outdoor sports facilities

The third group of participants of the further education course "Certified Greenkeeper / Agronomist for outdoor sports facilities" has graduated from the DEULA Rheinland.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Campus for Education, Sport and Culture

Promptly, in the academic year 2014/15, the first classes of the new school Gymnasium Grünwald were able to take on ownership of their “School of the Future”. The educational establishment also fulfils future demands thanks to its architectural and pedagogical concept, which is distinctly different from the traditional building and teaching methods of the past decade.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

High-Tech Synthetic Turf for the TuS Frammersbach

The German company, Trofil Sportbodensysteme GmbH & Co. KG, was recently able to finalise a project of a very special kind for the German first league football club TuS Frammersbach in the Franconia Region. Around 7,000 square metres of synthetic turf ...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Lush green with a pleasant look and feel

Compared with natural grass, modern synthetic turf systems distinguish themselves in part due to their cost-effectiveness. Durable and easy to clean, they can be played on all year round. In order to further improve their appearance, feel and wear ...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Financing sport facility construction – make use of all possibilities!

The problems are well known by many communities and sport clubs: Existing sports facilities are out-dated and require renovation work while the state coffers have no funds available. How can construction of new facilities or renovation of the old ones still be possible? There are various possibilities for financing this kind of project...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

A good combination of play, fun and safety

Sport and play are no longer just leisure-time activities. Fact is that in the context of daily school life, physical activity plays an increasingly important role as contrast to the intellectual stress. This concept is wholly supported by the private school St. George’s School in Duisburg, Germany...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Durable hybrid base layer improves play on natural grass pitches

A natural turf pitch is considered the ideal playing surface for football, but this kind of pitch is often used well above its limits. A hybrid base layer is a helpful solution as this "reinforcement" for the grass base layer helps to reduce damage caused during play, to maintain a level surface, improves shear resistance and increases the duration of use.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Hybrid base layer and hybrid sports turf – an alternative for community sports facilities?

In many communities and club locations there is only one question to be answered with regard to the optimal surface for an own football pitch: Artificial or natural turf? Opinions are often very similar – ...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Sport Development Planning: Compulsory or freestyle?

Does Community X still need the sports hall at a school which is to be closed due to a drop in numbers of students? Is construction of a fifth artificial turf pitch in Community Y really a good investment? ...

Sports & Leisure Facilities

The Future of Sports Facilities in Focus

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Collective community planning and organisation for sport and exercise

Do we have too many or not enough sports facilities? How can we make our sports clubs future-oriented? How can we bring schools and clubs together with regard to day schools? How should promotion of sport be organised in future?

Sports & Leisure Facilities

New green turf for the SV Schwanenberg

Athletes inspired by Trofil Sportsbodensysteme GmbH's new artificial turf pitch

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Spotlight on mass sport – More exercise for everyone!?

When asked how he had reached such an old age, the previous British Prime Minister Winston Churchill is said to have answered: "No Sport!" From a scientific point of view it isn't surprising that there is no well-founded proof of this quote from a man who was a passionate athlete in his young years. The reason for this alleged statement is therefore debateable, but it is sure that "couch potatoes" of any age group make use of it as an excuse for not undertaking any bodily exercise. Churchill lived to be 91 years old – even today a good age – but the reason probably wasn't that he abstained from sport.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Artificial turf surfaces: Environmental compatibility as per DIN 18035

In the past, environmental compatibility of artificial turf surfaces was tested according to the two DIN standards, DIN V 18035-6:2004 or DIN V 18035-7:2002. Both standards were withdrawn following a directive from the European commission which applied in particular to the highly contested DIN SPEC 18035-7:2011. The sole valid standard applying to artificial turf surfaces is EN 15330-1:2013.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Risk management for outdoor sports facilities

To date, for outdoor sports facilities no comprehensive inspections have been carried out with regard to user safety. Accordingly, in the case of accidents caused by, for example, falling goal posts, floodlight masts or faulty ball nets, compensation can be claimed according to German legislation § 823 BGB. Based on this, the Science to Business GmbH company of the University of Applied Sciences Osnabruck in cooperation with the Intergreen AG have developed a safety management concept which is state of the art and supports management and operators of outdoor sports facilities.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Injury Risk: Artificial Turf vs Natural Grass

Years ago, many players, coaches and trainer felt that playing or training on artificial turf lead to more injuries. This was true for soccer as well as other sports like American football, field hockey and lacrosse. Recent advances in technology have lead to “third generation” artificial turf that can be found on many public fields and in some professional stadia. But, the debate continues. Does playing or training on turf raise injury risk? Over the past several years, several studies have compared injury rates on turf and grass for several sports. Recently, we compiled the research on soccer and, using a meta-analysis attempted to determine if there is increase risk of injury on turf. We found that playing or training on turf does not raise the potential for acute injury. However, changes in the style of play and/or player perception of turf may affect injury risk.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

DIN EN 15330-1:2013 – Protection function for synthetic turf surfaces

Development of a modern synthetic turf system for the purpose of use as a pitch for hockey, football and rugby, requires a complex interaction of different elements is required. For sport surfaces, the sport and protection functions as well as the technical functions are defined by materials testing as per DIN EN 15330-1.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Innovation for sports surfaces

As confirmed by both test results and users, the all-weather syntex-ground surface manufactured by the company Dold Sportflächen GmbH is a safe, easy to maintain and financially interesting alternative to conventional synthetic turf and clay playing surfaces.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Sports field renovation: Synthetic or natural grass?

Classical clay pitches are a dying race and nobody is really sad. An increasing number of sports clubs, cities and communities are renovating their sports facilities turning all-weather surfaces into new synthetic turf or natural grass pitches. The advantages of these measures are clear: Along with greatly increased playing time, a significantly reduced danger of injury and better drainage possibilities are major factors for installation of a turf pitch. The question remains, which kind of pitch is recommended. In many locations synthetic turf pitches are installed although natural grass also has several advantages. There are a large number of factors to be taken into account for or the right choice of playing surface.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

"Training and further education in sports field maintenance"

In many sports facilities, maintenance work is focussed on turf pitches. In addition, there are usually tennis courts and increasingly more often, synthetic turf pitches to be cared for.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Football over the rooftops of Berlin

A racy time schedule for realisation of the synthetic turf pitch.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Playing fields for everyone – how an old club field was given a new lease of life

In the face of changing sport requirements and a dynamic demographic development, sports associations are coming up against the challenge of having to provide their members with attractive sport and exercise possibilities outside of the classical club repertoire. Especially sports clubs with their own facilities can create opportunities here as the example of the sport and culture communities Botnang in Stuttgart illustrates.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

An explosive project: Modernisation of the Ostpark sports facilities at Frankfurt am Main

The Ostpark is an attractive green park in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, which is very popular due to its vicinity to the city centre. At the centre of the park, which was founded at the beginning of the 20th century, is the so-called Ostparkweiher, a small lake. Grouped around the lake are playing and sunbathing areas, a playground and a sports field.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Mission to Moers: a combined sports complex that is out of this world

This is a very special project for Polytan|STI.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Artificial turf technology – A visit to Morton Extrusionstechnik factory in the Odenwald

The Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region is one of the most populated and revenue-rich regions in Germany; Morton Extrusionstechnik GmbH (MET for short), one of Europe's largest manufacturers of monofilaments, has also been based there in Abtsteinach since 2008.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Bloemfontein Athletic Stadium with new CONICA track

The Mangaung Athletics Stadium in Bloemfontein has been undergoing major renovations during the last two years.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Proper maintenance for playground and sports field surfaces

Rain, wind and other environmental elements cause dirt particles and other impurities to get lodged in the open pore structure of synthetic surfaces.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Trofil and SMG Synthetic turf seminar organised by the Siegburger Turnverein 1862/92 e.V.

The main topic was how much care a synthetic turf pitch requires (by the owners and external companies) in order to achieve optimal durability.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Quality EPDM granules

Experts agree: The kind and composition of raw materials used are decisive criteria for the quality of granules.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Trofil and SMG Synthetic turf seminar organised by the Siegburger Turnverein 1862/92 e.V.

The main topic was how much care a synthetic turf pitch requires (by the owners and external companies) in order to achieve optimal durability.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

The rush of visitors to the FIBO exceeded all expectations

A flying start for the FIBO, the world's leading trade fair for fitness, wellness and health, which was held again in Cologne, Germany, for the first time in 22 years. More than 45,000 visitors came on Saturday, nearly 50 per cent more than in a direct comparison to the same day of the previous year.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

From the arena to sport and leisure facilities for everyone

Sports fields in Germany are usually characterised by the requirements of school and club teams and, as a rule, are usually focussed towards competitive sport.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

BASF to sell CONICA Sports Surfaces to Serafin Group

Ludwigshafen, Germany – January 8, 2013 – BASF signed a contract with the Munich-based Serafin Group for the sale of its CONICA Sports Surfaces business together with its site in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Both parties agreed not to disclose financial details. Closing of the transaction is expected by the end of the second quarter of 2013.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Olympia stadium Munich now equipped with mobile synthetic turf

(Hennef, 09.04.2013) – The Trofil Sportbodensysteme GmbH & Co. KG Company, based in Hennef, Germany, was recently able to complete a very successful synthetic turf project in the Olympia Stadium in Munich.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

TSG-GuFiT: Realisation of a Vision

15 years ago we dreamed – we that is six to eight "young madcaps"

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Synthetic turf Made in Germany

For many years now, amateur and professional clubs have successfully put their faith in synthetic turf.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Thickness and weight of synthetic turf fibres

There is no standardised procedure available for determining the maximum thickness.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Structural change in sport

Usually, however, the main focus of attention is the over-ageing of society. How should the younger generations carry the weight of the older ones? How can the health system help shoulder this burden?

Sports & Leisure Facilities

FC Kray plays on Polytan artificial turf

And because these conditions were no longer fitting or acceptable for a league club, action was quickly taken. It was little over the length of a summer break, after 14 weeks of construction time, before Günter Oberholz Chairman of FCK announced: “We really hit the jackpot with the decision to select the Polytan turf.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

4th "Sportinfra" of the lsb h provides impulse for communities and associations

More than 60 exhibitors, well over 1000 registered visitors and a pretty impressive supporting programme. These are the main facts of the fourth "Sportinfra", the leading German trade fair for sports facility planning and construction.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

“LIGA PRO is the only goal which satisfies all football regulations”: Hanno Zwickl, ERHARD SPORT, on the globally innovative goal designed by him, the football goal LIGA PRO

“The first time that I thought, ‘We have to change something here’ was in 2008 when the German player Miroslav Klose broke his nose after sliding into the ground frame of the goal. He was not the only one to suffer personally because of this injury, but his whole team was at a disadvantage as the player missed several games.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Bullseye in White* ...

Not such a long time ago, disabled sport very little notice was taken of disabled (or adaptive) sport by the public. Even the Paralympics were given limited coverage by the media – the only disabled athletes shown were wheelchair racers showing the excellent performances of which they are capable before the marathon event.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Community Sport and Leisure facilities for everyone - Requirements for complete accessibility.

Promotion of sport with the aid of community facilities or subsidies to clubs and other establishments for leisure sport, are part of the voluntary tasks of communities. Core community sports facilities are sports fields and sports facilities, sport halls, leisure and indoor swimming pools.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Environmentally friendly recycling of artificial turf

The technical advantages of the artificial turf, high usability and playability in all weather conditions, are now recognized by all football associations.
Meanwhile international qualifications will be held on artificial sports fields.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

A Mini-Playing Field for Poessneck

"The 1000 mini pitches are also an expression of thanks to the people for a wonderful football championships final held in Germany - and what could be better than to pass on these thanks to the children who can play on these pitches" stated Dr Theo Zwanziger.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Better than its reputation – A plea for dirt

These dirt pitches should be treated with more acceptance - not least in the face of increasingly limited community finances – as they have a rightful place in existence and under given circumstances, are a sensible alternative.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

The ball is in play on the mini playing fields

This was motivation for the German football association (Deutschen Fußball-Bundes, DFB) to initiate construction of 1000 mini playing fields throughout Germany.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Care of filled synthetic turf systems

Wrong or insufficiently intensive care reduces the operating life and has an adverse effect on the properties of the turf. It is often the case that the turf must be replaced long before its actually intended life period – with substantial economic damages.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Polytan Estate Landscape products –green eye-catchers of the special kind

Often this is in areas where natural turf cannot grow or only poorly such as under large trees, in yards or in other places which have permanently too little sunlight. With the product range "Estate", Polytan offers a selection of synthetic turfs especially adapted for use in landscape gardening.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Compliance testing of synthetic turf pitches

Until October 2011, the standard DIN V 18035-7:2002-06 was the sole technical reference for manufacture of synthetic turf pitches in Germany. The DIN authorities have now withdrawn this standard and replaced it with DIN SPEC (pre-standard) 18035-7:2011 Sports grounds – Part 7: Synthetic turf areas, which is not a standard in the sense of DIN standard specifications.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

6thSPONSORs’ Sports Venue Summit on September 5&6, 2012 at the Alliance Arena in Munich

The three main focus points of the congress continue to be major events, construction and operation of sports stadiums and Innovation & Technology.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

IAKS-Seminar "Plastics and synthetic turf surfaces for sport and leisure facilities" at Königsbrunn, Germany, June 20/21, 2012

The objective of the event was to provide in-depth answers to discussion topics such as: "Which construction methods are most suitable for which uses? How are fibres, plastics and granules manufactured and what is their influence on use? It is always very interesting to hear about innovations in the trade based on examples and presentations.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Baden sport union rewards energy savers

The BSB presidium has decided in future to promote energy-saving measures in construction of sport facilities.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

The company 'STRABAG Sportstättenbau GmbH' realises its first PPP sport project in Luxembourg

Following the sports facilities in Königswinter and the Schlosspark Stadium in Brühl, both in Germany, this is the third project to be built within the framework of a public-private partnership with the STRABAG Sportstättenbau GmbH as private partner.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

In-house seminar of the Trofil Company on March 22, 2012 in Hennef near Bonn, Germany

On a mini-pitch in the production hall, which was closed for the day, the organiser Eike Wedell, welcomed all participants to the event.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Efficient drainage for Polish European championship pitches

Rastatt, May 2, 2012

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Communities can still vouch for club sports facilities

Towns and communities may continue to provide guarantees for construction of club sports facilities – but only within the framework of non-profit club purposes.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Current IAKS Seminar "Plastic and synthetic turf surfaces for sport and leisure facilities"

Up-to-date technical requirements on synthetic turf pitches and specifically developed products from suppliers pose new questions for planners and constructors.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Not "cheap" but "inexpensive"

"The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot – it can't be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you will have enough to pay for something better."

Sports & Leisure Facilities

School sport facilities in Kusel: The full Polytan programme

During the summer, Polytan had installed new school sports facilities.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Real Madrid opts again for Desso artificial turf pitches for its training centre

The training center “Ciudad Real Madrid” is a credit to its name. With its 11 football pitches and 1,200,000 m2 of accommodation, it is one of the largest training centres in the world.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Commentary on the standard DIN SPEC (pre-standard) 18035-7 "Artificial turf areas"

In October 2011, the German standards institute (Deutsche Institut für Normung, DIN) published the document DIN SPEC (pre-standard) 18035-7, "Artificial turf areas" and designated it the successor to DIN V 18035-7:2002.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

2nd Kassel Sports Symposium on Timber Structures for Sporting Applications organized by the Landessportbund Hessen e.V. (Hessian Sports Association)

The year 2011 was the International Year of Forests under the patronage of Federal President Christian Wulff.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Sustainable construction of sports facilities

In reality, however, sustainability is a combination of ecology, economics and sociology and means nothing less than to maintain these components in a regenerable way over a lasting period of time in order to counteract negative changes.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

GreenFields’ first dual use pitch in India secures National Academy status

The Fr. Agnel Multipurpose School in the Vashi suburb of Mumbai opened in 1982. It has worked hard to ensure that the students have access to good sports facilities as an integral part of their education. The school’s investment in a GreenFields synthetic turf pitch has now been recognised by the AIFF and FIFA who have chosen the school as one of four new residential football academies in India.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

“Climate Protection in Sports” wins award

(DOSB PRESS) The “Climate Protection in Sports” initiative of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) is one of the award winners of the “365 Landmarks in the Land of Ideas” competition.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

SportsDome fascinates experts

The dream for every a sports facility – and now no longer only a dream, but a feasible concept. This is how the renowned sports equipment manufacturer Erhard Sport presented the concept for the SportsDome at the last sportinfra trade fair in Frankfurt, Germany.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

New 100% recyclable artificial football pitch for SV Schaffhausen

Swiss club SV Schaffhausen (SVS), have completed the installation of the new Bühlplatz artificial pitch and will deliver real benefits for technically gifted players.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Fifth SPONSORs SportsVenue Summit in Munich‘s Allianz Arena

With the more than 300 participants and over 60 speakers from the international and national business, sport and federation sectors, this congress represents more than just a meeting place for manufacturers and visitors but now challenges participants to rethink concepts of sports venue construction. In view of the fact that Munich’s bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympic Games has failed, it is now all the more important to concentrate on the quality of sports venues in Germany. And there is also no doubt that these are seriously in need of overhaul.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Natural turf surfaces versus artificial turf surfaces

By Hans-Jörg Kolitzus, IST Consulting GmbH

Sports & Leisure Facilities

3. IAKS-Seminar “Synthetic and artificial turf for sport and leisure facilities”

The event took place under the banner of functionality, security and sustainability and began with a welcome speech by Siegfried Hoymann, Secretary General of IAKS, and a presentation by Rainer Ernst (landscape architect and caretaker of the Olympiapark Berlin/Hertha BSC football club).

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Westerbach sport facilities Eschborn

Renovation work was started in 2010 with an expansion of the gymnasium or rather, construction of a sports hall adjoining the existing facilities, by the company Büro AG5 based in Darmstadt.
The new, very well equipped, sports hall allows users a free panorama view of the whole sports facilities through the wide window front. In the background the hills of the Taunus region can be seen.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Germany’s men claim a seventh European Field Hockey Championship title

After an eight-year wait the German men's field hockey team has reclaimed the title of European Champions. The 9,000 spectators in an anxious sold-out Warsteiner HockeyPark stadium in Mönchengladbach witnessed an impressive performance from the German men, who emerged victorious against their Dutch opponents by four goals to two.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Grün-Weiß Mildenau Gymnastics and Sports Club Banks on Solar Energy

This is a win-win situation for both the sports club and the environment. The money saved will be entirely invested in sports.
A major issue of the project undertaken by the Grün-Weiß Mildenau gymnastics and sports club (TSV) is to familiarize many fellow citizens with the ease of installation and efficiency of solar thermal systems as well as to encourage them to go and get systems of their own.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Wiesbaden invests in artificial pitches

“Investments in well-equipped sports facilities is money well spent. Sport connects people and creates a feeling of solidarity and team spirit. And particularly important: In sports clubs, outstanding, very effective youth and integration work is being achieved. Here girls and boys learn how to deal with others fairly and the recognition of rules in a playful manner – this is incredibly important for the future of our society. Therefore, Wiesbaden is investing in artificial pitches,” says Dr. Helmut Müller, the Mayor of Wiesbaden, the capital of the state of Hessen.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Plenty of winners through protection/conservation of resources and climate protection - TSV 1895 Zornheim e.V. boldly follows new paths

Water, heating, electricity - these are all major causes of environmental pollution and so the club examined its financial resources carefully and carried out a seven year trial. The result is now obvious. Expenditure for electricity fuel oil fell drastically. By exercising a great deal of care and entrepreneurial spirit, the club is even creating future income from sales of energy.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Quo vadis DIN V 18035-7?

The currently valid version of the DIN V 18035-7 standard, "Synthetic turf surfaces", dates from 2002. In 2007, the European standard DIN EN 15330-1 "Synthetic turf areas" was published and intended to be a “partial replacement of DIN V 18035-7”.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Realisation of sports facilities as PPP projects

An increasing number of communities are being faced by with necessity of renovating their old sports facilities and/or to relocating them to new locations.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Gymnastics club "Turngemeinde 1861 e.V." in Mainz, Germany, takes an environmentally friendly road

The 252 solar modules, made by the company Schott AG, have been in operation feeding electricity into the national network since April 2010.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Does synthetic turf actually need maintenance work?

A synthetic turf playing field is an all-weather pitch which allows training sessions to be carried out in practically all weather conditions. In order to fulfil this requirement reliably and in the long term, the right kind of maintenance is essential.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Mission Accomplished: Football Turf in Kabul

The Dutch company GreenFields, a leading synthetic turf company, has completed the installation of this brand new football field at the future Olympic Centre in Kabul.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Synthetic turf – the everyday surface for training and league matches

Something that is unfortunately seen all too often on pitches: "Pitch closed"

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Transformation of an ash pitch into an artificial turf playing field – is everything just routine?

Cramped conditions prevailed at the ash playing ground at the ‘Am Hopfenbrunnen’ stadium in the Kalbach district of Frankfurt.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Spring care for sports fields

Artificial surfaces for outdoor areas – whether for running tracks, tennis courts, hockey or football pitches – are characterised by their durability.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Bound elastic shockpads

Hans-Jörg Kolitzus, officially appointed and sworn expert for sport surfaces, ret

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Football at high level in Vienna

What do you need to play football?

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Hillesheim enjoys exercising and sports on a new level with CONIPUR

Sports & Leisure Facilities

An informative IAKS seminar in Göttingen, Germany

IAKS seminar “Synthetic surfaces and turf pitches” was a great success.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Major Success at the Turf and Grass Expo 2010

The inaugural Turf and Grass Expo was held at the RAI Convention Centre in Amsterdam on December 8 and 9, 2010. Over a 1000 persons attended the event.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Two communities – one building project – one synthetic turf pitch

By Dipl.-Ing. Joachim Schulze, pslandschaft.de – freiraumplanung, independent landscape architect, aknw, bdla

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Cost-benefit comparison natural grass – synthetic turf

By Eric Hardman, Head of Sports facilities, Sports and Education Department, City of Basel, Switzerland

Sports & Leisure Facilities

The family-friendly sports field – a flash in the pan or evergreen?

by Dipl.- Sportwiss. Maren Reyer, Institut für Kooperative Planung und Sportentwicklung GbR

Sports & Leisure Facilities

The SportsDome

The renowned sports equipment manufacture Erhard Sport presented its playing field systems, including the SportsDome, a roofed multifunctional ball field, at the German GaLaBau trade fair.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Synthetic turf pitch for football and hockey players in Görlitz, Germany

by Dipl.-Ing.(FH) Carsten Schubert, Bauconzept Planungsgesellschaft mbH.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Innovative adhesives for bonding artificial turf

Conipur 106: Significantly more efficient than conventional products. Much less moisture sensitive. Can also be used under extreme climate conditions.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

The blue track in Berlin has a little sister in Jena

After 17 years of use, the old running track in the “Ernst-Abbe-Sportfeld” stadium at Jena had reached the end of the road. From now on, a new Regupol synthetic running track, manufactured and installed by the BSW GmbH, will provide the new training facilities for athletes at Jena.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

A clear win

Polytan football turf celebrated its entry into the French first league with a flourish and a clear decision in its favour from the top league clubs FC Lorient and AS Nancy.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

The TURF and GRASS EXPO 2010

The TURF and GRASS EXPO 2010: 8. - 9. Dezember 2010, Amsterdam

Sports & Leisure Facilities

The redevelopment of the Jakob Frey Stadium in Heidesheim

The specialist firm Gebr. Becker Sportanlagen GmbH has been commissioned to refurbish the Jakob Frey Stadium in Heidesheim. This is a pilot project in which a public-private partnership (PPP) concept is being employed, an alternative to the standard public tender procedure with which the involved parties are more familiar.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

More than just a synthetic turf pitch

by Markus Illgas, Alfred Ulenberg & Partner (landscape architects AKNW/bdla).
Project report about the development scheme for the sport facilities Hegestrasse in Gladbeck, Germany:

Sports & Leisure Facilities

The TURF and GRASS EXPO 2010

Are you looking at the option of artificial turf? Are you confused with all the aspects and potential options? Do you want to find out the facts on technical, sports participation, community development, financials, medical, player development, best practice, standards and competition regulations?

Sports & Leisure Facilities

New light athletic projects in the USA

Polytan has completed several prestige projects in the USA – the leading nation for light athletics. Polytan installed top quality running tracks at Texas University for the “Youth Olympic Selection Trials”, at the University of Tennessee for the “South Eastern Conference Championships” and finally, at the University of Indiana for the “Big Ten Conference” meeting.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Sports field renovation in Ayuntamiento de Tres Cantos in Madrid, Spain

In the community of Ayuntamiento de Tres Cantos in Madrid, renovation of a small sports field was published for tenders in a public bid.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Maintenance and refurbishment of sport surfaces

For 40 years now, Polytan has been installing sport surfaces throughout the world. Production, marketing and installation are all from one hand with Polytan. Continual development work, quality assurance and installation services, guarantee the highest product standards and professional installation work.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Individual sport pleasure at schools and in public parks

The sport equipment supplier Kübler Sport from Backnang in Germany, offers a flexible and relatively inexpensive sport facilities providing numerous possibilities for sport enthusiasts.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Gymnastics and sport with “kick”

Erhard Sport presents selected play and sport equipment for kindergarten and nursery schools.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Turf pitches for FIFA Football World Cup 2010™

For the first time in history, a FIFA World Cup™ will be played on grass pitches which are reinforced with artificial grass.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

New training track for Usain Bolt and his team colleagues

On April 30, the new Regupol tartan track, installed by the sport flooring manufacturer BSW at the training ground of sprint star Usain Bolt on the campus of the UWI University of Jamaica, was officially inaugurated.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Successful re-topping despite adverse conditions

New sport opportunities in the Emmendingen stadium.
The stadium in Emmendingen in the Southern Black Forest was a critical patient. The plastic surface material, which dated from the 1980’s, was not only due for a refit for age reasons. Damaged areas were visible beneath the surface in some cases, but hidden in others.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Melos-Granules - The surface for winners

22-year-old Jamaican Usain Bolt has set the predicted new world record in the 100-meter discipline. His strongest competitor, Tayson Gay, got the shock of his life during the 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics in the Berlin Olympic Stadium, when Usain Bolt not only set a new world record in the 100 metres but also in the 200 metres.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

20.000 Euro for ideas and visions for sports clubs

Lotto Hesse and the Hesse regional sports association announce the
“Oddset Future Prize for Sport in Hesse”.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Solution-oriented, further development of elastomers, a success story

The Melos GmbH develops know-how. Their products set standards in quality and application throughout the world with their state-of-the-art knowledge based on decades of experience and continual research. An interview with the Managing Director of Melos GmbH, Jörg Siekmann.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Maintenance of sports equipment: Quality guarantees safety.

A group of experienced sports equipment manufacturers joined forces with the most significant consumer representative and founded the “Gütegemeinschaft Sportgeräte e.V.” (quality control of sports equipment) which – under the pub-lic-law-governed, well-known roof of the RAL (Deutsches Institut für Gütesi-cherung und Kennzeichnung e.V. – German Institute for quality control and la-belling) – issued the quality control legislation, RAL-GZ 945.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

The innovative hockey pitch

It’s the difference that counts.
The Polytan product portfolio covers a complete performance range for sports facilities. This includes delivery and installation of classic synthetic turf and filled synthetic turf systems, elastic layers for artificial turf, polyurethane surfaces for athletic running tracks and all-weather pitches as well as line marking, repair and cleaning of sports facility surfaces.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Complete refurbishment of the sports ground “Tennenplatz” in Nürtingen

Neckarstadt – headquarters of the company Porplastic – can look back on a long tradition in competitive sports. TG Nürtingen has been in existence since 1859 and has been producing top athletes and providing a wide range of services for many decades.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

The innovative hockey pitch

It’s the difference that counts.
The Polytan product portfolio covers a complete performance range for sports facilities. This includes delivery and installation of classic synthetic turf and filled synthetic turf systems, elastic layers for artificial turf, polyurethane surfaces for athletic running tracks and all-weather pitches as well as line marking, repair and cleaning of sports facility surfaces.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Sport on the roof

Optigrün International AG specialises in all aspects of green roof cultivation and is one of the market-leading companies in the green roofing sector. The Optigrün network creates approximately 2 million square metres of various green roof styles annually. But sport on the roof is possible, too.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Quantensprung 2010 (Quantum Leap 2010)

By launching the club competition “Quantum Leap 2010 – club work in the coming decade”, the Bavarian regional sports federation “Bayerischer Landessportverband” (BLSV) and Lotto Bayern support innovative projects in Bavarian sports clubs.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

"Greening the City"

Not much longer. Following various requests for permanent green, Desso Sports Systems is proud to present Desso BuenaVista synthetic turf, the new product line for use in urban areas and private space.