UD Almería Stadium turf gets annual update ahead of upcoming home fixture
Royalverd begins replacing summer Bermuda grass with winter Ryegrass as the Rojiblancos head into two away games in a row
As part of the annual maintenance routine, the UD Almería Stadium's pitch has begun its scheduled returfing. The company Royalverd, responsible for maintaining the Stadium pitch, as well as the Anexo and Vega de Acá training grounds, has started the process of swapping the summer Bermuda grass for the winter Ryegrass. The timing of the returfing coincides with the first team’s two consecutive away matches against Las Palmas next Saturday and in La Coruña the following week.
The work, which began last Sunday after the team's recovery session post-Sporting de Gijón, involves mowing the existing Bermuda grass, creating furrows in the pitch and sowing the Ryegrass seed. Royalverd has a two-week window to ensure the new turf is ready for UD Almería's next home fixture against Real Zaragoza, scheduled for Saturday, 11 October.
While the returfing process takes place, previous matches at the Stadium were played on grass cut to 13mm, which was lower than usual. As a result, player footprints were more visible on the pitch, giving the surface a less polished appearance, though the ball's roll remained unaffected.
The team will need to train on the new Ryegrass ahead of the Zaragoza match to ensure players are acclimatised to the new surface.