If everything goes smoothly this time, the turf issue can be shelved at Rot-Weiss Essen.

After the international break, Rot-Weiss Essen will continue in the 3rd division with a home match against Jahn Regensburg (Saturday, 16 September, 2 p.m.). Then on a new surface, because the new turf is already in place at the stadium on Hafenstraße.

It has been one of the topics in recent weeks. Against Erzgebirge Aue or Preußen Münster, the players had considerable problems with the previously already newly laid green. Players got injured, there even had to be a break against Münster to plug holes. That had never happened before.

Even then, RWE boss Marcus Uhlig said that things could not go on like this. At the small members’ meeting on Tuesday evening, he stressed that the turf drainage had not been modernised since the stadium opened. Water could not drain away properly. That’s why a new lawn was laid this summer, and a self-sown one at that – it was cheaper, more sustainable and more robust than a rolled lawn, according to the unanimous opinion of experts.

“From today’s perspective, that was wrong. In the summer, we were convinced of it,” said Uhlig. The fact that the turf did not grow properly became apparent in the first home games of the season. Hence the new turf, which cost around 125,000 euros.

On Pfeiffer Rollrasen’s Facebook page, you can now see what the new turf looks like. And if you look down on the company’s Facebook page, you can see which stadiums have already been supplied with turf by the company recently.

Among others, Dynamo Dresden’s Rudolf Harbig Stadium, HSV’s Volkspark Stadium, 1 FC Cologne’s Rhein Energie Stadium or the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels.

Now the new turf has a few more days to grow and then, starting with RWE’s home game against Regensburg, the problems should be a thing of the past – and the focus will once again be on the sport.