Budapest's new sports complex built with state-of-the-art pitches

A special feature of the project is that the venue will also serve as a training ground for the World Athletics Championships. In addition, the sports fields will of course primarily serve the educational activities of the Hungarian University of Physical Education and Sports Sciences and will be open to the residents of the district and the capital who are keen to play sports.

The US Open course has been resurfaced

The Globál Sport Kft., the ZÁÉV Zrt., the Verbis, the Kft. and the German track maintenance machine manufacturer SMG GmbH organised a joint track maintenance day and a machine show on site, which was attended by our magazine. The event provided information on the ins and outs of live grass football pitch maintenance, presented by Vilmos Pető, Verbis Kft. sales manager.

Prof. Dr. László Szemán, university lecturer, gave a lecture on the agrotechnical requirements of sports fields with live grass. In his presentation, László Szemán put a strong emphasis on the life cycle of live grass, which is related to the different maintenance techniques.

Jochen Saumweber, the Eastern European Regional Representative of the German manufacturer of SMG GmbH pitch maintenance machines, presented the technologies and tools for the maintenance of artificial turf football pitches. In conclusion, Andreas Kuhárszky, Managing Director of Rebounds Sports Kft., gave a presentation on the maintenance needs of acrylic "hard surface" tennis courts. Andreas Kuhárszky highlighted that

Two Laykold Masters 5 tennis courts have been built in the Csörsz Street Sports Centre, which is also the official court laboratory for the US Open. The manager pointed out that the acrylic "hard-cover" tennis courts require major maintenance once a year to ensure that the players can play on a flawless court.

Innovative technology can replace weeks of work previously required

Most interest was shown in the athletics track maintenance machine, a new innovation from SMG GmbH, which is already a well-established practice in Western Europe for cleaning tracks. Commenting on the performance of the machine, András Molnár said.

"an athletics track in 2-3 days with 1 person: traditional athletics track cleaning - where 8-10 people wash it with a high-pressure tool for days or weeks - can be forgotten. With this machine, you can achieve a different level of quality, with less dirt, less wear and tear, and a longer lifespan of the track."

The Hungarian University of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, as the operator, has long been preparing to use professional machines to maintain and clean the sports fields it has built. Dr. Dániel Varga summarized the importance of this as follows. At the same time, we have a growing body of knowledge, which also needs to be updated and constantly renewed in order to keep up with the development of this specialised field. We are ready to do this, we are open to it, and we are also committed to maintaining these sports fields in good condition and cleanliness, so that they will be available to students and teachers in the same quality for many decades to come."

Unique in Europe, three track laying machines were working at the same time

The Globál Sport Kft. was the first company in Hungary to start building sports fields and has been doing so for 30 years with numerous national and international references. The company started its march in the field of sports fields in 1997 with the construction of the athletics track on Margaret Island.

András Molnár, the owner-manager of Globál Sport Kft., summed up this period: "I have to say that we have completed one of the most difficult projects of my life. It is one of one of the most difficult experiences of my life. The World Championships cannot be postponed and the track is needed. All credit to my colleagues, there is a department of the company that has not gone home for a month and worked 15-16 hours a day to get this facility ready. Now we can rest assured, it is finished, we are proud of it and if all is true, it will be one of the training grounds for the World Cup."

During the construction, a unique combination of three track-laying machines was created on the athletics track, which was still under construction at the time, and this was unique in Europe. "In agreement with the main contractor, we also brought in other partner companies with whom we could increase the efficiency of the work. That's how the teamwork came about, and there was a moment when the athletics track was built by more than fifty people with the associated technology, and that doesn't happen very often", said András Molnár.