Drainage blocks from ACO Polycrete were installed inside the Arena Pernambuco, one of the stadiums hosting the World Cup matches this year.

Located in the northern Brazilian coastal town of Recife, the Arena Pernambuco has been able to avoid water logging on the field unlike the scene outside on the roads leading up to the stadium, with standing water sometimes up to 18 inches deep or more after a torrential downpour.

The Fernandes Associated Architects firm, which was responsible for the stadium’s construction, utilised modern construction techniques to help handle the elements at the 66-acre site.

ACO Brazil supplied more than 1,300 feet of Monoblock PD200 drainage blocks to ring the all-grass turf. Featuring large inflow slots on the top, the drainage blocks ensure that surface water enters the drain quickly with hollow channels carrying the overflow water through the drainage system.

The Monoblock system channels rainwater through its drainage system for reuse both within and outside the stadium. To prevent water build-up on the field, the engineers and architects designed large trenches with piping that were burrowed deep in the base layer of the field during construction to help drain water. Drainage layers of porous material were additionally installed underneath the Bermuda Tifway 419 grass type, a product used in six of the 12 World Cup venues and commonly used for warm-weather turf.