The Ball – Revealing the secret of the (premium) turf at Parque dos Principes (Paris Saint-Germain)

Paris Saint-Germain, considered the most beautiful stadium in the French Ligue 1, revealed on Saturday the secret of the success of the Parc des Princes green carpet: nothing less than … hawks!

Six years ago, a falconry company was hired to protect the lawn from pigeon attacks.

“It takes 12 weeks to have a lawn in good shape. This year, with the concerts, we had to work longer before the competition returned. Big cities like London or Paris are famous for pigeons. They eat weed seeds, and without seeds we have no grass. That is That’s where the hawks come in, which is a tactic to scare away the pigeons and thus allow the grass to grow normally,” said Jonathan Calderwood, PSG’s lead gardener.

“On the first day we make thirty to forty attacks, some birds are specially trained to interfere in the playing fields. For example, the Harris hawk comes directly from the United States, and it is one of the hawks that hunt in groups, like wolves,” Calderwood explained.

For the service, Parisian falconer Christophe Pouzin pays about 20,000 euros a year.

?? Des faucons pour préserver la pelouse du Parc des Princes! ???? pic.twitter.com/nSIsA4NCWA

– Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_inside) 2 July 2022