San Mamés is testing a smart turf sensor and monitoring solution deployed by Athletic Club and Sener

The iconic San Mamés stadium is testing a digital solution to monitor the condition of Athletic Club’s pitch, jointly deployed by the club and the engineering and technology group Sener. This unique system, a pilot project tailored to the specific needs of San Mamés, is capable of accurately recording and displaying changes in parameters such as humidity, salinity, temperature, lighting, ventilation, and turf quality in each part of the pitch, while also assessing how these factors impact the care of natural turf. The aim is to precisely analyse the pitch’s condition and needs, improve turf maintenance, and optimise energy and water use, thereby achieving a more sustainable management model.

The solution makes it possible to monitor conditions such as humidity, salinity and temperature, and to understand how these parameters are affected by factors like solar radiation, rainfall, and ambient temperature. The system’s algorithm takes all of these elements into account, providing information in near real time to support decision-making by facility managers, while considering the unique context of each area (for example, exposure to sunlight or cumulative rainfall). As a result, it will be possible to save energy and water, improve natural turf maintenance, and reduce the carbon footprint.

This is a flexible solution, designed to adapt to different circumstances, such as the changing light conditions during the day at San Mamés due to the design of its roof. The solution features a digital dashboard that integrates all the information in a single interface, drawing on multiple internal sources (such as sensors deployed on the pitch) and external sources (such as weather stations and AEMET forecasts). In addition, it includes monitoring of the Athletic Club’s Lezama training complex.

Sener’s experience in sports facilities

This project extends Sener’s portfolio in the sports facilities market, where it offers solutions such as Hypogea®, its patented retractable pitch system. With this innovative solution, the natural turf of stadiums can be removed and protected quickly, safely, and automatically, using a set of mechanisms that reposition and move the trays dividing the playing surface. It also features advanced turf maintenance systems (including irrigation, ventilation, heating, drainage, and more). The Hypogea solution has been successfully deployed at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.

Óscar Malo, Director of Infrastructure at Athletic Club, notes that “The system being tested in our stadium could provide us with a tool to help improve the quality of our pitch while optimising the resources used to maintain it. This is consistent with the Club’s sustainability strategy, which focuses on reducing energy and water consumption.”

“Sports stadiums are undergoing an exciting technological development, with notable advances such as the case of San Mamés,” says Juan Francisco Paz, Director of Architecture at Sener. “This unique solution will allow the club to progress towards its environmental goals while also improving the care of its playing surfaces, setting a technological benchmark in the field of sports infrastructure.”