Armstrong DD GrassMaster Gets Olympic Workout

Lancaster, PA, May 13--The 2004 Olympic Games’ football (soccer) competitions scheduled in the Panthessaliko Stadium in Volos, Greece will play out on DD GrassMaster, a synthetically reinforced natural grass field developed and installed by Desso DLW Sports Systems, a subsidiary of Armstrong World Industries, Inc. “The Olympic Games are special and Armstrong is extremely proud and excited about seeing GrassMaster get such a high profile workout,” said Randall Gablehouse, general manager, Commercial Sales, Armstrong Flooring. “The good word about GrassMaster continues to spread and now a worldwide audience will see how well it holds up to Olympic competition.” Professional sports teams make Desso a world leader in surfacing solutions, both indoors and out. DD GrassMaster is a combination of grasses reinforced with polypropylene fibers sewn into the sod every three-fourths of an inch. The environmentally friendly fibers reach seven inches into sod and a half-inch above it. As the roots of the grass grow, they intertwine with the artificial fibers, anchoring the grass roots to provide a stable grass surface. The a sand-based stabilization product was developed in the Netherlands in the 1980's and has been installed in playing surfaces since 1992. To date, the DD GrassMaster system is installed in more than 200 fields worldwide. Top clubs like the Philadelphia Eagles, the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Denver Broncos, Real Madrid (Spain), Liverpool FC and West Ham United FC (UK), NAC (The Netherlands), play on DD GrassMaster, citing its superior appearance, playability and durability. Panthessaliko Stadium is one of five hosting football matches for both the men’s and women’s national teams. Panthessaliko will host eight games over ten days, sometimes two games per day. DD GrassMaster was chosen to afford the natural grass surface of the stadium the time to recover between games. As the football matches are always high profile, the Olympic organization couldn’t risk being forced to cancel a game due to poor pitch conditions. Both the UEFA and FIFA football federations approved this grass system for professional football games.