PSG will finally return to the Parc des Princes on Friday against Monaco, on the third day of Ligue 1, with an entirely new pitch. Two weeks after the controversy which forced the club to reverse its match against Rennes due to too deteriorated turf, the teams of Jonathan Calderwood, head gardener of PSG for thirteen years, went to look for a new turf in Ireland. According to The Parisianthey went directly to the site to check its quality before having around 700 rolls of grass transported to Paris. The installation was then carried out in three days, August 26, 27 and 28, in order to allow the ground to take root before the Monegasques received. The cost of the operation has not been revealed, but this type of work is estimated at more than 500,000 euros.
The deadline remains particularly short since only seven days separate the end of the installation from the match against Monaco. After several tests carried out with and without a ball, the Parisian gardeners consider, however, that the pitch is sufficiently ready to host a high-level match without putting the players in danger. The previous turf, sown at the beginning of summer, had been seriously damaged by episodes of heatwave in the Paris region, to the point of making it impossible for PSG-Rennes to play at the Parc on August 23. The match was finally reversed and played in Brittany (2-2). Unable to host the match as initially planned, PSG was subsequently fined 150,000 euros by the League Competitions Commission.
