Underground top-quality turf without sunlight: Bernabéu sets new standard in field management |
|
|
|
|
 |
| 66 sec |
Real Madrid CF has taken a unique step in field management at the renovated Santiago Bernabéu stadium. With a fully underground stored playing surface and advanced lighting technology, top-quality turf can be maintained year-round — without natural sunlight.
 |
The redevelopment of the Bernabéu focuses on maximum multifunctionality. The stadium is designed to host not only football matches, but also large-scale events. This requires a fully retractable pitch system. The hybrid playing surface is therefore stored 30 metres underground in an enclosed space with no access to daylight. This approach placed high demands on turf management. To maintain top-sport quality, an underground cultivation system with CLS technology is used. This system provides controlled lighting, temperature and climate conditions across the entire field.
At the core of the solution is Complete Light Spectrum LED technology, developed together with the Technical University of Munich. The system replicates sunlight, including realistic day-night cycles. More than 750,000 LEDs are distributed across six levels of the underground facility. The field is divided into 51 individually controllable zones, allowing light intensity and spectrum to be adjusted locally.
In addition to lighting, monitoring plays a crucial role. Sensors continuously provide insight into parameters such as temperature, moisture and nutrients. This data forms the basis for controlling lighting and climate regulation, enabling precise adjustment to the needs of the turf. While traditional grow lights are mainly focused on visibility, this technology explicitly supports the plant's biological processes. This creates a climate that contributes to root development, recovery capacity and stress resistance of the turf, despite the completely enclosed environment. With this approach, Real Madrid introduces a new benchmark for underground pitch management. The stadium can be used flexibly for various events without compromising the quality of the playing surface — a development that may also be relevant for other top venues worldwide.
Submitted by
Rhenac
Melanie Jung
|
This article was previously published on May 18, 2026 on the website of Fieldmanager.
| LOG IN
with your email address to respond.
|
|
|
| There are no comments yet. |
|
| |
Anyone can place small ads for free through their own account.
Place a free ad
|
|
|
|
