Happiness Is (Soon) on the Pitch!

The HAC players will have brand-new pitches at Soquence within the next few weeks. The field at Stade CMA CGM Océane is also being renovated.

Just as workers need good tools, footballers need good balls, good boots—and good pitches. Requested by the club and coaching staff and financially supported by Blue Crow Sports Group, investments are being made at Soquence this summer. Before work begins on the building, attention has turned to the training center’s playing surfaces. Unfortunately, the construction prevents supporters from gathering along the sidelines during summer training sessions, but the work is essential.

Beside Pitch No. 1—a pristine hybrid surface identical to the one at Stade Océane—the grass has disappeared and, for now, been replaced by sand. No, HAC is not launching a beach-soccer program; the club is preparing for the future. Pitch No. 2, featuring natural grass, and Pitch No. 3, featuring a hybrid surface, are expected to be ready by mid-September.

Camille Le Lay, a technician with Terideal Sparfel Normandie, explained the process:

“We are currently rebuilding the entire foundational layer. There is a layer of pure sand, and we are adding another 12-centimeter layer of enriched sand containing organic matter, all blended together. In 10 days, we are scheduled to sow the grass on both pitches simultaneously.”

The groundskeeping team will continue nurturing the grass with fertilizer and aeration as needed. At the end of August, the hybrid pitch will be “stitched.”

“Stitched?” The term becomes clearer when taken literally: synthetic fibers will be inserted individually among the natural blades of grass. It is painstaking work designed to give the HAC players the ideal surface on which to practice their own craft.

The pitch at Stade CMA CGM Océane has also been working on its “summer body” and receiving a makeover. Camille continued:

“This is a standard renovation known as scalping. We removed the plant material while retaining the synthetic fibers. We then add sand and organic matter, reseed the surface, fertilize it and wait for it to grow.”

The grass requires at least eight weeks to establish itself firmly enough to withstand the boots of the Sky and Navy players and their opponents. The pitch will therefore be fully ready when HAC hosts AS Monaco on August 23.