Having successfully completed work on the record-breaking Kingdom Arena pitch in Saudi Arabia, UK’s leading synthetic turf manufacturer SIS Pitches has drawn up ambitious long-term plans to further expand its presence and reach in the region.

 SIS Pitches, which produces premium hybrid, synthetic and natural pitches for an array of sports, including football, rugby, golf, tennis and cricket, made its first foray into the market in 2011 in Dubai, UAE.

Recognising a growing appetite for high-level professional sports, and the growing need for cutting-edge surfaces, the sports surface specialist established an office in Saudi Arabia in July last year. Within weeks, the company undertook the ambitious sporting infrastructure project to complete the Kingdom Arena – the world’s first fully indoor hybrid pitch, built in just 21 days – in partnership with Sela, a Saudi-based specialist offering world-class experience development and event production and management services.

So far, SIS Pitches has invested more than SR1.3 million ($370,000) into the region – with Saudi Arabia now firmly established as a country key to the business’s long-term plans.

The company has opened three maintenance depots across the country in Tabuk, Jeddah and Riyadh, all designed to cater to local professional teams, including Neom FC, Al Ahli-FC and Al-Hilal FC. Those will also enable SIS Pitches to undertake major maintenance and pitch care projects in the kingdom, which have previously included the Italian and Spanish Super Cups at King Fahd Stadium and Al-Awwal Park.

Kingdom Arena pitch was built in 21 days by SIS Pitches and Sela.

Additionally, two new turf farms have opened in Saudi Arabia and Turkey, joining the already established UAE site, to grow high-resilience turf, guaranteeing efficient costs and turf health to support major projects in the region. This includes high-level pitches and surfaces for a range of sports – from rugby and football to equestrian sports and cricket – as well as commercial landscaping.

The current team, which is 40 people strong, is also expected to grow to 60 people in the next year.

SIS Middle East Managing Director David Ball comments: “Over the past five years, Saudi Arabia has clearly established itself as a key destination for some of the world’s biggest athletes. People’s love of sports here is apparent, and there’s been a real appetite for the high-standard facilities to rival those of major European teams.”

“The opening of our Saudi Arabia office last year reflects our commitment to establish ourselves in the region, bringing our experience working with some of the most recognisable names in sports to the kingdom’s professional teams and supporting them as they step onto the international stage. Being local also means we can offer a speedy, domestic solution throughout a full season of sport.

“This is a pivotal moment for sports in the region. We’re looking forward to helping the Kingdom make history,” he adds.

SISGrass, which offers hybrid playing surfaces using a small percentage of polymer fibre stitched into a natural grass pitch, is part of the SIS Group, a fully international business with offices around the world, including UK, Ireland, Netherlands, Turkey and the Middle East. The product forms part of SIS’s wider portfolio of sports surface solutions, which includes the artificial variant SISGrass Synthetic, made with a choice of monofilament or fibrillated yarns – or a mixture of the two – plus thatch support yarn and surfaces developed specifically for athletics tracks.