The pitches in Populous’s Olympic Hockey Centre will be blue, making 2012 the first time Olympic field hockey is played on any colour other than green.

The move, announced by Locog, the organiser of next year’s Olympic Games, is intended to provide high levels of contrast with the white ball and white lines. The pitch run-off areas will be pink.

Organisers hope the two pitches will be a prominent landmark to complement the architecture of the permanent surrounding venues.

Jeff Keas, principal of Populous, said: “We see this venue as one of the four cornerstones of the Olympic Park and have designed a venue that takes advantage of this opportunity.  The design is unique in that it allows the atmosphere and action on the blue pitch to be enhanced by allowing views in from the park as well as views out to the park and the backdrop of this city.”

Debbie Jevans, Locog director of sport, added that it had carried out research with athletes and broadcasters before announcing the change.

Hockey was played on natural grass until the 1970s before synthetic turf pitches were introduced to make the game faster. This meant pitches could be any colour, but until they have always been green.

 

Topics