Vienna, Austria – As part of the refurbishment of the Hanappi stadium in Vienna, recently two new 100% recyclable artificial turf fields emerged. The artificial turf installed is the GreenFields MX which is the first product of the latest ‘green’ generation of artificial turf products. Both fields were built by the company Strabag AG and meet FIFA 2-Star criteria.

The GreenFields MX is a new artificial turf that is based on a patented weaving technique – the so-called “3D” technology. Compared to conventional production methods this method offers many advantages due to which the playing qualities come very close to natural grass.

The idea of the GreenFields MX artificial turf is the patented three-dimensional technology for the production of turf clumps. The grass does not come with the traditional tufted rows of artificial grass fibers, but with individual turf clumps. This design achieves a high elasticity of the fiber which results in a smooth ball roll in all directions and an optimal passing, shooting, turning and dribbling.

GreenFields MX was first installed in the UEFA Centre of Football Excellence in Nyon, Switzerland. Meanwhile, among other football clubs, IF Elfsborg (champion of Sweden), SV Schaffhausen in Switzerland, Fotbollklubb Alesund in Norway, FC Metz in France, PEC Zwolle and Heracles from the Netherlands already play on the artificial turf of the latest generation.

Franz Redl, Manager at STRABAG Sportstättenbau, is excited about the new GreenFields MX: “Besides the fact that the fields already look like natural grass, the game quality is even better than we expected. This type of artificial turf has nothing to do anymore with conventional artificial turf. One sees clearly that the ball behaves like on natural grass and that the players move “naturally”. On top of that, the artificial turf is 100% recyclable. That was a condition of the City of Vienna for building the two artificial turf fields. ”

The patented weaving technology allows for using materials from the same family, i.e. polypropylene and polyethylene. Because of the components of artificial turf, both the backing and the fibers are made of the same eco-friendly material, so that the artificial turf is 100% recyclable after it has served its purpose.