A pitch developer from Maryport has sealed a hat-trick for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, after being given the go-ahead to install a new hybrid pitch.

SIS Pitches will install the SISGrass turf at the new Rostov Arena, which will be used five times during the World Cup in 18 months’ time.

The firm, based at Glasson Industrial Estate, will also oversee the designing stage and provide full maintenance throughout the competition.

The deal completes a World Cup trio for the business after already securing deals to provide hybrid pitches for the World Cup final at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium, as well as a natural pitch at the home of Spartak Moscow FC.

The 2018 World Cup will be the first to have SISGrass natural turf reinforced pitches and SISAir technology.

It involves stitching a natural turf pitch using a patented injector vehicle that embeds up to 150 miles of custom yarn into the ground, to bind with the grass.

George Mullan, owner of SIS Pitches, said: “It’s fantastic to have been given the green light to begin work on a third pitch out in Russia.

“The quality of SISGrass will ensure that the pitches are resilient in all conditions, and I am sure the competition is one that we all remember.

“At SIS Pitches we have had a fantastic 2016 and whilst we all have new challenges and goals for the next 12 months, we already enter 2017 on a high.”

SIS Pitches has also completed work at the Krasnodar Stadium over the past 12 months, which is on the reserve stadium list for the World Cup.

The hybrid grass is a reinforced turf system which features special fibre injections to offer more stability and durability than natural grass surfaces.

The firm’s SISAir system manages soil moisture and removes excess water from the soil through a network of under pitch pipes. It also helps better growing conditions for a healthier turf.

Ilyas Kobal, SIS Pitches’ Eastern Europe managing director, added: “This will be another contract from design to construction, and we will be supplying machinery and providing maintenance until the end of the World Cup in 2018.

“This is the result of our proven success at the Luzhniki Stadium, FC Krasnodar and Spartak Moscow that we have worked on in the last three years.”

The company employs 40 staff in Maryport and has produced pitches for top-level teams around the world.