Omniturf
Encyclopedia
Omniturf was the first artificial surface to be used by an English Football League
club. The first club to install this 'plastic grass' surface was Queens Park Rangers who installed the new pitch for the start of the 1981/82 season. Despite much publicity around the supposed unfair advantage the pitch would provide Rangers, they proceeded to lose the opening home Division Two match on the new surface by 1-2 against Luton Town.
The pitch did prove to be successful for Rangers though, as they reached the FA Cup
Final in the 1981/82 season (as a 2nd Division club), and then won the (old) 2nd Division Championship the following season.
The innovation at Loftus Road
brought mixed results, for while the ball ran smoothly enough over the hard surface, it was unpredictable when allowed to bounce. This caused confusion among defenders and goalkeepers in particular.
The Omniturf pitch lasted at Rangers' Loftus Road
ground for seven seasons; the pitch was torn up at the end of the 1987/88 season.
Other Football League clubs which also laid similar artificial surfaces during the 1980s were Luton Town (obviously impressed from the first match), Oldham Athletic
, and Preston North End.
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
club. The first club to install this 'plastic grass' surface was Queens Park Rangers who installed the new pitch for the start of the 1981/82 season. Despite much publicity around the supposed unfair advantage the pitch would provide Rangers, they proceeded to lose the opening home Division Two match on the new surface by 1-2 against Luton Town.
The pitch did prove to be successful for Rangers though, as they reached the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
Final in the 1981/82 season (as a 2nd Division club), and then won the (old) 2nd Division Championship the following season.
The innovation at Loftus Road
Loftus Road
Loftus Road is a football stadium in Shepherd's Bush, London. It is home to the English football team Queens Park Rangers of the Premier League and has a capacity of around 18,500. The four stands are called the Loftus Road End , Ellerslie Road Stand, South Africa Road Stand and the School End,...
brought mixed results, for while the ball ran smoothly enough over the hard surface, it was unpredictable when allowed to bounce. This caused confusion among defenders and goalkeepers in particular.
The Omniturf pitch lasted at Rangers' Loftus Road
Loftus Road
Loftus Road is a football stadium in Shepherd's Bush, London. It is home to the English football team Queens Park Rangers of the Premier League and has a capacity of around 18,500. The four stands are called the Loftus Road End , Ellerslie Road Stand, South Africa Road Stand and the School End,...
ground for seven seasons; the pitch was torn up at the end of the 1987/88 season.
Other Football League clubs which also laid similar artificial surfaces during the 1980s were Luton Town (obviously impressed from the first match), Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic A.F.C.
Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is an English association football club based at Boundary Park, on Sheepfoot Lane in Oldham, Greater Manchester. The club currently competes in the Football League One, the third tier of the English league...
, and Preston North End.