According to "Varzesh 3", Azadi Stadium entered a new phase of preparation today, Sunday, Aban 3rd, and the seeding operation of its pitch began. According to project officials, the new grass of this stadium will be hybrid, and the time required for the growth and preparation of the pitch will now determine the inauguration of this stadium.

Mohammad Ali Sabetghadam, CEO of the Company for the Development and Maintenance of Sports Venues, has announced the cost incurred for the renovation of Azadi Stadium to be around 2300 billion tomans. He also mentioned late Azar or early Dey as the deadline for the inauguration of the stadium, so that with the start of grass planting, the promise of Azadi's return enters an important phase.

From today until the end of Azar, about 57 days remain, which is close to eight weeks for the growth and establishment of the grass. This gap raises an important question: will the newly planted pitch be ready to withstand the pressure of matches in this timeframe? The important point is that with this date, Persepolis and Esteghlal will practically remain away from their fans' beloved stadium until the end of the half-season.

Hybrid grass is actually natural grass reinforced with synthetic fibers. These fibers help the stability of the pitch, but the natural part still needs to grow and its roots must establish in the soil bed. For this reason, the speed of installing the synthetic part cannot be equated with the time it takes for the entire pitch to be ready for a match, and the big challenge will be that the condition of the stadium's grass might face many problems like Yadegar Stadium.

In practical examples, achieving such a timeframe is possible. Grass planting companies state the interval from seeding to the first match for some on-site planted hybrid systems to be about eight to 10 weeks. However, this figure is related to the system and implementation conditions of that specific company and alone does not determine the preparation time of Azadi's grass, and Azadi Stadium will likely need at least three months.

Therefore, the deadline of late Azar and early Dey can be considered technically conceivable, but its realization depends on the method of hybrid grass implementation, the type of seed, growth conditions, and maintenance quality. The contractor of Azadi Stadium also announced that three months will be needed for the utilization of the grass.

Source: Varzesh 3