Choosing the Right Surface

Agripower Contractors offer a wide range of artificial sports turf pitch options, including 3rd Generation turf, sand dressed and sand filled synthetic sports turf for football, hockey, rugby, tennis through to macadam and acrylic based multi use games areas.

Whatever you’re synthetic sports surface requirement is, be it an artificial turf football & hockey pitch or a synthetic turf tennis & cricket surface, we are confident we can find the right package for you.

Third Generation (3G) Artificial Sports Turf

3rd Generation synthetic surfaces (also known as 3G artificial turf) is predominantly used for football and rugby, as it closely simulates the playing characteristics of natural turf. The surfaces utilise longer fibres in a reduced density and are filled with a mix of sand infill and rubber infill granules to provide some shock absorption.

There is a wide range of 3G artificial grass on the market and is significantly improved from the early days of the ‘Astroturf’ used in the 1980’s. 3rd Generation synthetic surfaces are now being played on, to professional standards offering improved playing characteristics in all weather conditions.

There are many different types of 3G artificial grass from monofilament fibres to fibrillated fibres. The yarns vary from polyethylene to polypropylene and the standard of the backing system is also an essential part in the design process to meet certain 3rd generation synthetic surfacing accreditations.

3rd Generation artificial grass can be installed to FA, FIFA 1*, FIFA 2*, IRB or RFU sports synthetic surfacing accreditations set by Sport England. 

These surfaces are generally regarded as being about as safe to play on as a typical natural grass surface, perhaps even safer in cold and/or wet conditions.

Sand Filled Artificial Sports Turf

Sand filled artificial turf is popular for hockey, five-a-side football and a variety of other sports. This type of artificial surface is generally used where space is at a premium and a wide variety of sports are required on a single facility e.g. football and tennis.

Whilst the nature of this turf is ideal to accommodate a range of sports it is not necessarily for any particular one. Sand filled artificial surfaces are not typically installed in high level/performance facilities.

The pile of the carpet is filled almost to the top with sand. The sand makes the field rough and harder. In comparison to water-based fields or minimal sand-dressed fields, ball speed across the surface is often noticeably slower.

Water Based Artificial Sports Turf 

Water based artificial turf surfaces have no sand infill between the pile fibres of the carpet and is therefore sometimes called 'no fill artificial turf'.

This superior grade of pitch is primarily used in the majority of the elite hockey pitches. It has a very high density of artificial grass with no sand infill giving a consistent ball roll and bounce. The pitch is fully irrigated with a layer of water which results in an extremely fast and professional game. Due to the absence of sand, the blades of artificial grass are free-moving which enables players to get their hockey stick under the ball. This allows for a technical game with many possibilities.

The water layer in the hockey pitch has a Low Slide Resistance (LSR) and shock absorbance properties for excellent player safety. Unlike some sand based hockey pitches, the surface will remain soft even at low temperatures thereby reducing the risk of friction burns. The water also has a cooling effect and provides a protective layer between players and the pitch. 

Sand Dressed Artificial Sports Turf 

Sand dressed artificial surfaces are also primarily used for hockey, but can also be used for 5-a-side football and other casual sport use. The carpets are dense, heavy structures which incorporate a shorter pile dressed with sand that is packed below a gap of about 4mm of the surface.

The above table shows which synthetic grass system lends itself to particular sports applications – the higher the score the more suited to the particular activity.

Visit our client’s page for a list of our clients or our gallery page to view recent images.

For further information about the artificial surfaces we offer, click here or call 01494 866 776.