Current artificial sport pitches adversely affect the climate. However, if we want to facilitate sport activities for everyone, we are dependent on artificial sport pitches. They can be used year-round (weather resistant) and intensively, which is a great advantage in densely populated areas. As sport pitches take up a lot of space in cities, they could play an important role in making the city more sustainable. Together with market parties, we, the cities of Amsterdam and Haarlem, want to bring about change! We are looking for innovative solutions and developments that are applicable to various situations and to multiple artificial grass pitches. Our goal: sustainable artificial sport pitches made of circular materials, that contribute to an improved water balance, a better approach to heat stress and a general positive contribution to the energy issue. Think of, for example, a system for water storage or compostable materials.

Our ambitions:

• Fully circular sport pitches;
• Smarter and more efficient construction processes;
• Climate adaptation: sport pitches that prevent heat stress and smart use of rain water;
• Sport pitches generating energy that for example could be used for the club house and/or the surrounding area;

Who are we looking for?

Any entrepreneur with a product or process that can be applied to artificial sport pitches. The tender is, for example, of interest to scale-ups and companies working on:

• Circular materials;
• Smart construction processes;
• Energy generation;
• Climate adaptation.

What can you expect?

• A unique chance to testing and bringing a new solution to the market together with other innovative entrepreneurs. The parties participating in this project will collaborate in so-called consortia. A consortium is a temporary collaboration between different parties;
• The opportunity to secure a long-term contract with one or more public authorities (thus enabling rapid scaling);
• A financial compensation for your participation in the tender and the associated process costs. For the tender, a total of €300,000 is available, which will be divided among the consortia, with a maximum of €45,000 per consortium (€5,000 for the application phase and €40,000 for the selection phase); A financial compensation for the development phase. More information about this budget will follow;
• Access to the knowledge and experience of public authorities and knowledge partners in the field of sports fields;
• You will remain the owner of your solution and get publicity and brand recognition for your company;
• Upon completion of this trajectory, you will have a proven solution that other public, semi-public, and private parties are also seeking.

JOIN US TO COLLABORATE IN THE SEARCH FOR SOLUTIONS TOWARDS CLIMATE NEUTRALITY!

To participate in the event, register here: Registration Form Matchmaking Event

*The spoken language during the matchmaking event will be Dutch.

Are you part of a municipality, a (public) procurer and/or holder of artificial sport pitches, striving for climate neutrality? Do not invent the wheel yourself and learn from our results! Follow the project for possible replication of the solutions that we will develop. We are striving for replication of the solutions on artificial sport pitches all over Europe!

Follow the project on: Future-proof sport pitches - Innovatiepartners

Note: The content of this article does not confer any rights, the tender documents take precedence.