Great experiences with GreenFields XtraGrass in Kiev

In May this year, a GreenFields XtraGrass hybrid turf system was installed at Ukraine’s national stadium, NSK Olimpiyskiy in Kiev.

Since mid-June, around 30 matches have been played on it. The pitch is used by both Dynamo Kiev and Shakhtar Donetsk for their matches in the national competition and the UEFA Champions League. Moreover, it is also used by the national football team of Ukraine. Apart from the matches, a lot of training sessions took place on the pitch since it was installed.

The heavy use of the pitch, with many matches taking place within a short period of time, is made possible by the extensive maintenance of the XtraGrass pitch in combination with a heating system. Maksym Kobzin and Maksym Stelmakh, the responsible groundsmen, are very proud of the high quality of the pitch. According to them, it is currently considered to be the best natural pitch in Ukraine. This claim was backed up by the excellent state of the pitch the day after the Champions League match Dynamo Kiev -Bayern Munich, which took place in snowy conditions.

Not surprisingly, this XtraGrass pitch is the favourite of Ukraine’s national football team and Dynamo Kiev and Shakhtar Donetsk have already installed a total of 6 similar pitches at their training facilities.

The XtraGrass pitch one day after the match Dynamo Kiev - Bayern Munich