Sligo company ensuring pitch perfect for World Cup Final

When Spain and Argentina take to the New York/New Jersey Stadium in tomorrow night's World Cup Final, they will grace a pitch prepared by a company founded in Sligo.

SIS Pitches, founded by George Mullan, has provided advanced sports pitch technology in nine of the 16 host stadiums across the US, Canada and Mexico.

Mr Mullan, who is the company’s executive chairman, told RTÉ News that it was a great for a company from Ireland, and as a Sligo man that "the World Cup final is about as good as you can get".

"It's very important for us, obviously from a marketing perspective, but it’s also a great achievement for our team of people," he said.

The Spain and Argentina showdown will also include a half-time show, featuring artists such as Madonna, Shakira and Justin Bieber at the MetLife Stadium.

An audience of two billion people are expected to watch the spectacle.

This is the third World Cup Final for the Irish company, set up in 2001.

Providing the perfect pitch

SIS Grass is a patented hybrid turf technology that reinforces natural grass with synthetic polyethylene fibres, creating a highly durable playing surface.

A Sligo Rovers fan, Mr Mullan said the MetLife Stadium works were carried out by an experienced team including individuals from the Netherlands, Portugal and Ireland.

"It just provides a perfect surface for what is the biggest stage in football on Sunday. You won't see any turf breaking up and players falling," he said.

The company’s grass technology has been used in San Francisco, Miami, Kansas City, Toronto, Monterrey and New Jersey, and the company’s DrainTalent system has been used in Guadalajara, Seattle and Vancouver.

The vacuum drainage system delivers both irrigation and drain management, allowing for the quick extraction of excess water and subsurface irrigation, when required.

"We're working in conjunction with really good maintenance teams in America. They’re doing a fantastic job and for our technology to be on the biggest stage in the world - it's wonderful for the company and for all our staff," Mr Mullan said.

Fields designed in the old sod

SIS Pitches employ about 650 people with offices in Amsterdam, Istanbul, Dubai, the UK and Ireland, building natural grass, hybrid, and synthetic pitches across the globe.

The company has also been involved in some of the Ireland’s most high-profile grounds including Donnybrook Stadium, Thomond Park and the Connacht GAA Air Dome.

Mr Mullan told RTÉ News that the company, finished a project in Sweden on Thursday night and are currently building two World Cup stadium projects in Saudi Arabia, along with another project in Uganda.

"It's not that you get used to it, but I will only watch probably 10 minutes on Sunday because you just don't want to watch your own field all the time.

"We're a global business, but local in our attitude. We try to deliver quality…so, to be at the pinnacle, having your product played at the at the World Cup final – it’s huge," he said.

Click here to read article