Jupiler League best pitch is a double success for Nijmegen
The best pitch in the Jupiler League (Dutch First Division) is a double success for the city of Nijmegen. The pitch is situated in the ‘Goffertstadion’, home of the Nijmegen football club NEC, and the grass seed is supplied by Barenbrug, based in the same city.
The selection of the best pitch is made by the users themselves: the professional football players. During the season, all the captains of the away-playing teams in the Jupiler League provide a weekly assessment of the field on which they played. At the end of the season, the NEC pitch was declared to be the best.
RPR innovative grass mixture
Jan van den Boom, account manager at Barenbrug, congratulated the whole grounds team for their accomplishment. The team was presented with a cake from Barenbrug, featuring the logo of the innovative grass mixture RPR. Van den Boom: “Week after week, the men of NEC have done their utmost to ensure the pitch is in its optimal condition. Such an achievement can only be realised with a great deal of expertise, hard work and with a good grass mixture.”
Regenerating Perennial Ryegrass
For a number of years, NEC has overseeded the pitch with RPR. This perennial ryegrass forms horizontal stolons, which gives it the ability to repair damaged patches itself. Theo van Benthum, field manager at the Goffertstadion, is extremely positive about the revolutionary RPR. “At the time, we were the first professional Dutch football club to sow the pitch with RPR. The results were so good, that we now overseed the pitch several times a year. We don’t miss the conventional smooth stalked meadow grass.”
Fast establishment of RPR
On the 8th of May, at the end of the competition, the pitch was overseeded with RPR to ensure its tip-top condition for the following season. After overseeding, another advantage of this grass seed mixture is revealed: its fast establishment. Van Benthum: “The fast growth of RPR is truly fantastic. Annual meadow grass hardly gets a chance to settle, which means that we have a grass surface of the highest quality over the entire pitch.”