Under-soil heating

Under-soil heating is a method used in various sports stadia (that have grass as their main surface) which heats the underside of the pitch to avoid any bad weather, such as snow and ice, from building up and ultimately helps the club avoid having to postpone any matches.

The first ground in England to have under-soil heating installed was Goodison Park in 1958. Most English Premiership teams now have this installed in their stadia. While it is not an official requirement, it avoids any financial loss that a club might face in having to postpone any matches due to bad weather. Several teams in the United States National Football League (American football) located in cold-weather cities also have such a system installed. In the case of American football, it is more a matter of player safety, since NFL games are never postponed on account of cold weather. In Germany under-soil heating is mandatory for 1. and 2. Fußball-Bundesliga. The first one was installed in 1972 in the Olympic Stadium of Munich. In the Czech Republic, despite the league having a winter break, the Czech First League requires all participating teams to play on surfaces with under-soil heating. At Old Trafford, the pitch has 18.4 miles (29.6 km) of under-soil heating.