Sevilla FC - Carlos Venegas, Grounds Manager
- 5 days ago
- 7 min read
I developed an interest in turfgrass while playing rugby, and although we trained on old sand pitches, we played our home games on the only decent pitch in Seville, La Cartuja, where the Spanish national football team plays its home games.
After finishing Agricultural Technical Engineering in Spain, I decided to go to the UK to study a BSc in Sports Turf Science and Management at Writtle College. In that way, I could combine the three things I enjoyed most in life: playing rugby, studying turfgrass, and drinking Guinness—although not necessarily in that order! Later, I completed a master's degree in plant health out of passion, and due to the requirements of my position at the club, I also completed a master’s in occupational risk prevention and organisation and a degree in industrial engineering.
After finishing my studies in the UK and returning to Spain, I worked for five years on various golf courses and sports surfaces in general with a local company, JERSA, participating in important projects such as La Grajera golf club in La Rioja, Los Barrancos de La Zagaleta in Malaga and also the Centro Nacional Golf club in Madrid.
Due to a family health problem, I needed to stay close to home, so I looked for a job in my hometown of Seville. That was when the opportunity arose at Sevilla F.C., eventually being offered the position of Grounds Manager in 2006. After some disconcerting beginnings (mainly due to the differences between golf and football), I gradually adapted to the football world (as I am still adapting to this day).
At the beginning of my football baptism, we had serious issues with the grass in the main stadium (Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán), especially as summer advanced. Because the grass installed was a C3 species, the high temperatures forced excessive water consumption, localised irrigation to compensate for water deficits, and constant disease treatments. Although well water was available, water is not that abundant in Seville.
This problem was solved in 2009, during the last major renovation carried out to date, when we installed certified Tifway 419 hybrid bermudagrass in collaboration with a national turf supplier, Novogreen. After the installation, which included replacing the top 10 cm with silica sand, the bermudagrass has consistently maintained high quality during the summer, while requiring significantly less intensive maintenance.
Overseeding is carried out every year in early October (usually during the international break) with 100% perennial ryegrass. At times, we have mixed it with Kentucky bluegrass or used Italian ryegrass for winter overseeding; however, perennial ryegrass remains our preferred option, while also mixing several varieties with varying disease tolerances. Another major challenge during overseeding is the strong competition between ryegrass and bermudagrass during establishment, as bermudagrass remains active later each year and can sometimes not enter dormancy as late as December.
The RSP Stadium is an open, North–South–oriented venue with very few shade issues. Only the southern area experiences shade problems, and only for about three months of the year. With three lighting units, we can provide sufficient supplemental light to promote growth and effectively address this issue.
The stadium also has an excellent construction profile. The pitch was built in 1998 by my previous employers, JERSA, and the truth is that the profile is outstanding. Even today, it continues to perform very well, maintaining excellent infiltration and drainage capacity.
As a curious detail, the drainage water collection well of the Stadium is located at a lower level than the street outlet. Because of this, the water must be pumped up to the street collectors. This becomes a disadvantage during periods of heavy rainfall, when the sewer system is full, making it very difficult to evacuate the drainage water efficiently.
Currently, weekly planning depends largely on the competition schedule. Even so, the pitch in the Stadium is usually well protected, and any training sessions on the stadium pitch are kept to a minimum (it is quite common in La Liga for the first team to train on the stadium pitch—especially if the team is still active in three competitions). However, there are periods when the pitch may be used more than five times within ten days during a non-active growing season, and as a result, the turf quality naturally suffers.
One of the main challenges with maintaining bermudagrass pitches is the patience required during transitions—especially with the October overseeding. Many people misunderstand the annual management cycle of a bermudagrass surface. Cool-season overseed species need roughly 6–10 weeks to establish adequate tillering and root development before they provide consistent surface cover and if immediate, match-quality cover is required, the only quick solution is to lay sod. By contrast, bermudagrass regenerates and regains dominance more slowly through stolons and rhizomes, therefore a staged, patient approach is essential: plan seeding dates, protect emerging turf from excessive traffic, and avoid trying to force a “finished” surface overnight.
Once established, though, the overall performance is excellent in my opinion, as it behaves like a natural hybrid turf with outstanding capacity to withstand long hours of play.
Although the stadium pitch measures 105 × 68 m, it is quite enclosed, with only about two metres of space on each side. This has certain advantages, as it increases the sense of pressure and intensity for the players during matches. However, it also creates a significant maintenance challenge, as there is very little room to manoeuvre machinery around the pitch. As a result, we are forced to carry out heavy work in the narrow perimeter during training sessions, which often leads to unintended damage or extraction of sod in areas that are not easily visible from inside the pitch.
From the current maintenance team that works in the stadium, I am especially grateful to my colleague Antonio Delgado, who is the true architect behind keeping the RSP pitch in excellent condition. He is usually accompanied by one or two other team members, although at times he works alone. Almost every morning, we hold a brief meeting to review the strategy for pitch management based on recent results and observations.
Weekly planning is carried out collaboratively, considering factors such as wear and tear, the time until the next match, and obviously the weather forecast. In the most favourable conditions, we perform a fortnightly topdressing of around 24 tonnes of sand, followed by aeration, selecting tine depth according to the time of year and the recovery period before the next game. During periods of very active bermudagrass growth, we also perform light scarifying to prevent excessive thatch accumulation.
Like humans, turfgrass responds to nutrition, and I consider plant nutrition to be one of the most important aspects of sports turf management. I am a strong believer in “spoon-feeding” through fertigation, providing constant and controlled nutrition to avoid growth spikes. Approximately 85% of the fertilizer is applied via fertigation, guided by regular analyses of sap, leaf tissue, and soil samples every 15 days, and water testing every six months. Maintaining nutritional balance is key to preventing major problems in the future.
All the fertilizers we use are slow-release, and most are of organic origin, as this approach has provided excellent results at minimal cost while supporting our commitment to sustainability. In line with this, we follow an integrated pest and turf management strategy that combines balanced nutrition with the application of biological products such as Bacillus, Trichoderma, mycorrhizae, and others. To be effective, this strategy requires that all applications are carried out in an orderly and carefully sequenced manner.
When there is limited time between matches, the main maintenance tasks performed at the RSP Stadium include:
Rotary mowing for cleaning and vacuuming
Daily brushing and grooming
Continuous application of pre-germinated seeds mixed with sand, organic matter, fertilizer, and rooting agents
Placement of sod plugs
Pitch marking
There are some issues with nematodes (both endoparasites and ectoparasites) in the stadium turf, as is common in almost all football pitches. To manage this, we perform regular sampling to monitor thresholds that may affect the grass and to determine the best treatment strategy. Organic products, such as garlic extract and Paecilomyces lilacinus, are used for nematode control, while biostimulants—particularly Ascophyllum nodosum—are applied to strengthen the root system. These treatments are most effective when applied preventively, allowing us to anticipate problems rather than reacting once damage occurs.
Most fungal issues are secondary, often arising from weakened plants due to nematode pressure or from the high temperatures and humidity conditions during winter overseeding, which create significant disease pressure. Young plants are particularly affected, with high incidences of diseases such as Piricularia and Bipolaris in shadier areas, and Magnaporthe poae and Pythium in more exposed areas. Once disease appears, targeted chemical fungicides are applied to help control the outbreak.
At the end of the season, one of the most important maintenance tasks is to koro the pitch off. This process reactivates the bermudagrass and deeply cleans the subsurface, allowing stolons and rhizomes to grow in a clean medium. Following this, we implement a more aggressive nutrition program to stimulate bermudagrass recovery. From the point of full restoration, we carry out light scarifying on alternate days, with more aggressive passes every ten days whilst collecting all debris.
At the training centre, a large groundskeeping team follow a well detailed maintenance program. Depending on the volume of work, this can sometimes include three additional workers, supplemented by temporary workers. The team maintains eight natural grass pitches which are a very similar construction of that of the stadium pitch. Within the training facilities, we also have a mini stadium (Jesús Navas stadium) with a capacity for 8,754 spectators, along with four artificial pitches. This mini stadium pitch is the only one that differs in construction from the main stadium. It is based on the USGA greens profile.
The first team typically has access to two or three of these pitches, (depending on the time of year) and all professional teams at the club play on the natural pitches when they are available.
Work-life balance in this profession is challenging. The combination of uncontrollable variables, high stress, and intense dedication often goes unrewarded and can affect personal life. Family members must adapt to continuous absences, as the pitch has no fixed hours.
