Belgian success on the football field

We hope it’s not too soon for our American readers to talk about Belgium’s success on the football pitch. But this article isn’t about the Red Devils or the latest match results. Instead, it’s about grass. More specifically, it’s about the natural turf in football stadiums, and how Belgian LED innovator MechaTronix is helping keep these elite sports pitches in top condition.

Originally developed for the controlled environment of horticulture, the company’s technology is increasingly finding its way into some of the world’s leading football stadiums. Through its strategic partnership with Stogger Turf Care, MechaTronix LED technology is helping natural grass perform at the highest level of professional sports—across the globe.

From greenhouse to stadium: the same biology, different challenges
“Although the environments are entirely different, the underlying principle remains the same: optimizing plant growth through precisely controlled lighting,” explains Koen Van Gorp of MechaTronix. “In horticulture, the goal is to maximize crop quality, uniformity and year-round production. In professional sports, the objective is different but equally demanding: maintaining a resilient, high-quality natural grass surface that can withstand intensive use, limited daylight and changing weather conditions.”

According to Koen, it is this shared biological foundation that makes the technology transferable. “Plants respond to light. Whether they grow in a greenhouse or in a stadium, the principles remain the same. Only the scale and the application are different.”

World-class stadiums as a new growth market
In recent years, several large-scale installations have been completed at leading sports venues around the world, including:
– BC Place Stadium (Vancouver, Canada) – one of the most challenging natural grass environments within the FIFA World Cup 2026 infrastructure.
– PayPal Park (home of the San Jose Earthquakes, MLS) – year-round support for pitch performance in Silicon Valley.
– DHL Stadium (Cape Town, South Africa) – the first professional football LED grow lighting project in Africa.
– FC Basel (Switzerland) – large-scale installations for both the stadium and training facilities.
– Hajduk Split (Croatia) – supporting rapid turf growth and recovery for elite football.

Each of these projects features systems developed by Stogger Turf Care, powered by MechaTronix LED grow light technology at their core.

Horticultural technology as the foundation
“The connection with the fresh produce and horticulture sector is clear,” says Van Gorp. “The same technological foundation used for crop optimization in greenhouses now forms the backbone of modern sports turf lighting. The difference lies in the application: in horticulture, the focus is on maximizing yield and control, while in sports it’s about maximizing playing quality and recovery capacity. In both cases, LED technology enables precise control of the light spectrum, intensity, and energy efficiency.”

Partnership driving innovation
The international rollout of this technology has only been possible thanks to a strong partnership. Stogger Turf Care translates the technology into mobile and stadium-specific solutions, while MechaTronix develops the LED grow-light modules that make these performance improvements possible.

“Together, we’ve created systems that are not only powerful and energy-efficient, but also scalable enough to meet the demands of the world’s most challenging environments.”

“What started in the controlled environment of the greenhouse has evolved into a technology that is making an impact far beyond agriculture. From tomatoes and strawberries to football pitches at the highest level, light remains the silent force behind growth, recovery, and quality.”

For more information:
MechaTronix
[email protected]
www.horti-growlight.com
linkedin.com/mechatronix-led