International Award - UK Based BALI Members only

For a contract undertaken outside the UK. The International Award can be either a domestic, commercial or private contract, interior or exterior. This is a paperwork submission only. No judging visits are undertaken.

Talbot Farm Landscapes

PRINCIPAL AWard WINNER 2020

Prince Faisal Bin Fahd Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

The contractor was invited by the Saudi Arabian sports minister to visit the country and review the condition of a selection of stadium pitches for quality and compatibility with current FIFA soccer pitch standards. They were subsequently awarded the contract to replace the pitch at the Prince Faisal Bin Fahd Stadium in Riyadh. The client’s brief was to assist with the improvement of sports surfaces in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, bringing them up to the standard required by FIFA for international matches, reflecting the increasing popularity of football in the Middle East.

The contractor flew out their own specialist machinery to undertake the work to replace the existing reinforced rootzone system at the Prince Faisal Bin Fahd Stadium with an innovative and totally bespoke POWERgrass hybrid system that combines the advantages of natural grass with the resistance of synthetic turf. The top layer of c.100mm was removed down to the old reinforced carpet system and new sand, ameliorated with additives, integrated prior to installation of the hybrid grass system. The hybrid carpet was installed in rolls of 4 metres, stitched together and then filled with the rootzone and elastic layer up to 35mm. The surface was then seeded with Seashore Paspalum Pure Dynasty and dressed with mineral and organic fertilisers.