Maracanã begins pitch replacement for remainder of season | OneFootball

Maracanã began work on Monday to renew the pitch for the remainder of the season, starting with a full scrape before fresh turf is laid.

The stadium said in a social media post that the works are scheduled and the surface will be fit to host Fluminense and Flamengo matches through to the end of the year.

For now, rolls of Bermuda Celebration, the grass used in recent years, will be installed. From 2027 the venue will switch to Celebration Hybrid to increase durability, with the change planned immediately after the end of the Campeonato Brasileiro.

On Sunday the ground staged the NFL Rio Game, Baltimore Ravens against Dallas Cowboys. After the event, coaches and players said the pitch absorbed the impacts naturally and did not affect the flow of the game.

The last football match at the stadium was on 20 September, when Flamengo beat Bragantino in the Brasileirão. At that point, management were still weighing whether to replace the turf.

Maracanã listed five key maintenance factors behind the recent decline, and four worsened from 2025 to 2026, including a 26% rise in rain-affected fixtures within 24 hours and the interval between matches. Vegetation density and physiological activity also fell.

Despite fewer games, a warmer winter combined with heavy rain left the surface less dense and more humid. These climate conditions contributed to the drop in quality.

Source: Globo.com

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