Agronomist details Corinthians stadium pitch replacement | OneFootball

Last Sunday (7), shortly after the Brazilian Women’s National Team friendly, Corinthians began the process of replacing the Neo Química Arena pitch, taking advantage of the period without matches due to the World Cup break, which will take place between June 11 and July 19 in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

In a video shared on social media, João Paulo, an agronomist engineer at World Sports, a company known for specializing in sports turf and responsible for maintaining Corinthians’ stadium, explained how the pitch replacement is being carried out: “It’s roughly 25 hours of uninterrupted work. We are finishing the frazemowing process on the Neo Química Arena pitch. This phase process is a scraping. It’s the scraping of the surface layer of the field, where this grass creates organic matter. So it’s a material that people sometimes see as darker, so it looks like dirt or mud.”

Photo: José Manoel Idalgo / Ag. Corinthians

“It’s a material that holds a lot of moisture. Some players also complain that it makes the field a little more slippery, although that is somewhat a characteristic of high grass, compared to the Bermuda grass used in most stadiums in Brazil. This phase process is very commonly carried out at the biggest stadiums in Europe, which use this type of grass. Here in Brazil the frequency isn’t as high because the schedule is very tight, difficult. We have 45 to 60 days for the field operation. But as you can see, the process has already been completed,” he began.

He went on to detail the maintenance of the synthetic fiber in the pitch and the next steps until the process is completed: “The next steps are maintaining this synthetic fiber.So we check whether anything is loose, do the cleaning, the fine inspection. Cleaning this fiber, brushing it to keep it upright.Keep it standing up. Together with this brushing, we are going to apply a layer of sand. So it’s the replacement of the material that was removed to make sure the field will be level, right? And at the same time, continue with this brushing. So, after this process, we will seed the field.”

The professional concluded: “So it will be 100% replaced, 100% seeded. After this seed germinates, it will produce roots. These roots will intertwine with this fiber. And that is what will give support to the field. So that we can have a quality field for a longer period of time. This scraping has already been done a few times since the arena was built.”

“But it’s the first time since the new fiber was inserted, right? It was done a little before the NFL game last year. So now, the expectation with the new fiber and the new pitch as well, this vigorous plant, this young plant, right? With more vigor, the expectation is that the field will be at the same standard it was in 2014. So this is a field that will withstand not only the 2026 season, but also the coming years.”

The last complete replacement of the Neo Química Arena pitch took place in September 2025. On that occasion, the work was carried out in preparation for the National Football League (NFL) game played in Itaquera between the Los Angeles Chargers and the Kansas City Chiefs.

With the national competitions on pause, Corinthians found an ideal window to carry out the improvements without affecting the match schedule. The men’s squad went on vacation after the 3-1 win over Grêmio, in the penultimate round of the first half of the Brazilian Championship, away from home, and will only return to official action in the week of July, when they will host Remo in the national competition.

In addition to replacing the pitch, the club’s board is also studying other interventions in the stadium structure. Among the planned actions is a general cleaning of Neo Química Arena, including external areas and the roof. The last operation of this scale took place in 2020, before the implementation of the visual identity linked to the stadium’s naming rights agreement.

Another matter under review involves the modernization and maintenance of the giant screens and LED panels spread throughout the Arena. The club is evaluating alternatives to correct wear and tear accumulated over the years and is seeking partners to make the equipment improvements possible. Corinthians expects to take advantage of the period without matches to carry out the necessary interventions and have Neo Química Arena fully prepared to host the commitments of the second half of the season.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.