Lawn care: Fungal drama in the stadium costs over 100,000 euros extra

The lawn at the Stade de Luxembourg was the subject of much discussion before the European Championship qualifier against Belarus on September 8th, which ended in a 0-1 defeat for Luxembourg. The reason: a pathogenic fungus had severely damaged the hybrid lawn, which significantly impaired playing conditions. National coach Luc Holtz confirmed after the party that the lawn was not in optimal condition, although the game could take place as planned.

What is particularly annoying is that the lawn was only serviced in the summer, during which the stadium was temporarily closed. This extensive work is scheduled to take place every two years. “I saw the lawn at the beginning of August, it was perfect. Two weeks later, it was completely destroyed,” explained Joël Wolff, General Secretary of the Luxembourg Football Federation (FLF), at the beginning of September.

On Tuesday evening, the City of Luxembourg published the costs of maintaining the pitch in response to a request from municipal councillor François Benoy. According to the municipality, the “original costs” for the planned maintenance work in the summer amount to 100,333 euros. In addition, there were “additional costs to combat the disease and prepare the pitch for the match on 8 September” amounting to 36,170 euros. A further 65,520 euros were also estimated for “maintenance and control of the disease until the match on 15 November against Bulgaria”.

Overall, the costs for lawn care have almost doubled due to the fungal disease. 70 percent of the costs are borne by the Ministry of Sport and 30 percent by the City of Luxembourg. The original investment in the stadium's hybrid turf is 3,252,515 euros.

The City of Luxembourg also announced that “the playability of the pitch is not currently at risk,” but stressed that it is difficult to predict how the existing damage will affect future matches. The company 3S-Tech Sàrl is responsible for maintaining the hybrid turf at the Stade de Luxembourg.