Agronomist of “Kryvbas” Dmytro Chekha explained why the home match of the club with “Veres” in the 18th round of the Ukrainian championship, scheduled for the upcoming Saturday, February 22, will not take place in Kryvyi Rih, but in Rivne at the “Avanhard” stadium.
The “Hirnyk” stadium in Kryvyi Rih on February 14 (photo: fckryvbas.com)— Dmytro, please tell us, why has the match “Kryvbas” — “Veres” become impossible in Kryvyi Rih?
— Work on preparing the field of the “Hirnyk” stadium began on January 27, three and a half weeks before the match of the 18th round of the UPL “Kryvbas” — “Veres”. Preparation began since the air temperature allowed it. A set of agro-technical works was carried out, and the field was covered with protective agro-cloth.
After 7 days, on February 3, the cloth was removed and special work was carried out on the lawn. At that time, the air temperature was comfortable for grass lawns. On February 14, having analyzed the weather forecast, precipitation in the form of rain and wet snow was expected, so a decision was made to replace the protective film with anti-rain coverage. The soil temperature before covering with the film was +5 degrees.
On the night of February 15, rain and wet snow began in Kryvyi Rih. At 10:00, the stadium staff began work to remove the remnants of rain and snow from the lawn. That same day, starting from 17:00, the air temperature began to drop sharply and at night reached a mark of −12 degrees. Accordingly, the moist soil under the protective covering froze. The soil temperature fell to −1 degree.
On February 17, analyzing the weekly weather forecast (which was up to −14 degrees), the management of FC “Kryvbas” made the decision to postpone the game, as the condition of the soil could cause injuries to the players.
— So, it turns out that the stadium in Rivne can host this match purely because it has a heated pitch, whereas the “Hirnyk” stadium — does not?
— Yes, you are absolutely right. The stadium in Rivne has heating. It started working two weeks before the current game. Unfortunately, there is no such heating at the Kryvyi Rih stadium. We had planned the reconstruction of the pitch before the debut in the UPL, we had even paid for the work and materials, but the reconstruction was supposed to start at the end of spring to update the field by summer.
However, as you know, the war began on February 24, 2022, and at that time it was unclear what would happen to football at all. Therefore, the management abandoned the reconstruction and redirected the funds to the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
— If it weren’t for the war, would the stadium have heating?
— We all understand that having heating would be better and it’s normal to have heating at a stadium. But even without it, we managed to host UPL matches in the last two winters.
— So, the club doesn’t necessarily have to have a stadium with heated fields?
— Naturally, heating is needed; it simplifies the work and allows the football field to function fully. But personally, I don’t think that its absence is a reason to exclude stadiums from competitions. Each arena, each field, and each of its segment is unique and requires its own approach, that’s what we, agronomists, are working for. It’s good that now, in this difficult situation in Ukraine, there’s understanding, and this requirement is not the main one for allowing the stadium to competitions.
When the war is over, then we need to return to discussing this issue and resolve with agronomists and representatives of all clubs the necessity of certain criteria.
— As far as I understand, “Kryvbas” continues the construction of the stadium, even despite the war, right?
— Yes, when the large-scale invasion began, we did not have a new stand at the stadium, and only the replacement of the field and the construction of two stands were planned. As I said before, they abandoned the field. However, the club built one stand and reconstructed and updated the field. The grass cover was expanded, shifted, problem areas were replaced, and the drainage system was improved.
What I would like to add. It’s really great that one of the partners of “Kryvbas” is “Ukravit”, which conducts research on soils and plant protection products. Our fields are under their additional protection, and this allows us to maintain them at a decent level.
Danilo Vereitin
