Hirabayashi Metal Softball Team Home Ground: "HIRAKIN Rise Stadium"
Mizuno has completed a major renovation of the HIRAKIN Rise Stadium, the home ground for the Hirabayashi Metal softball team, marking the company's first design and construction of a dedicated softball stadium. The project incorporates environmentally friendly artificial turf and design features to prevent microplastic runoff, reflecting a commitment to both high-performance sports facilities and ecological sustainability.
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- 📰 Published: March 30, 2026 at 23:00
- 🔍 Collected: March 30, 2026 at 22:56
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Mizuno has completed its first large-scale renovation in approximately 11 years of the "HIRAKIN Rise Stadium," the home ground for the softball team of Hirabayashi Metal Co., Ltd., a company primarily engaged in the recycling of iron, non-ferrous metals, used home appliances, and automobiles. With this renovation, Mizuno has completed the design and construction of its first-ever stadium dedicated to softball. Since its opening in 2001, "HIRAKIN Rise Stadium" has served as a community-rooted facility, hosting events such as elementary school softball tournaments, and has now been reborn as the first stadium in Okayama Prefecture dedicated exclusively to softball.
▼ Baseball-specific artificial turf "MS CRAFT BASEBALL TURF-V"
https://sports-facilities.mizuno.jp/service/grass/productlist/baseballturf-v/
"HIRAKIN Rise Stadium" is located alongside the Asahi River, a first-class river flowing through the center of Okayama Prefecture. In recent years, a significant issue has been the generation of fine marine plastic waste known as "microplastics," caused by artificial turf blades and infill materials washing out of facilities due to deterioration from long-term use or improper maintenance.
To address these challenges, this renovation features the adoption of "MS CRAFT BASEBALL TURF-V," a baseball-specific artificial turf sold since 2022 that helps reduce environmental impact, in the outfield. This artificial turf has blades with approximately 1.7 times the strength of conventional products*1, which reduces the tearing and scattering of blades over long-term use, contributing to a lower environmental footprint. This is the same artificial turf used at the Belluna Dome, home of the Saitama Seibu Lions. Furthermore, equipment has been installed to prevent the runoff of turf and infill materials. While serving as a full-scale softball stadium, the design aims to create a space that is considerate of the surrounding local ecosystem.
*1 Our company's straight-pile artificial turf
Taking the "HIRAKIN Rise Stadium" project as a starting point, we will continue to promote the development of dedicated softball stadiums and environmentally conscious sports facilities.
**Features of "HIRAKIN Rise Stadium"**
"HIRAKIN Rise Stadium" is a softball-dedicated facility surrounded by rich nature, including mountains and rivers, serving as the home ground for the Hirabayashi Metal Co., Ltd. softball team. By adopting the "MS CRAFT series" artificial turf for the outfield—which is used in professional baseball stadiums both domestically and internationally and was selected for the Ministry of the Environment's "Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) Project" to promote excellent environmental technologies—the facility design aims to balance professional-grade stadium specifications with consideration for the natural environment.
■ "MS CRAFT BASEBALL TURF-V" with improved durability, shape recovery, and shock absorption
The baseball-specific artificial turf "MS CRAFT BASEBALL TURF-V" features an increased pile thickness from the conventional 280㎛ to 400㎛, resulting in improved durability, long-term stability, shock absorption, and aesthetics. This reduces environmental impact and lessens the physical burden on players, providing stable ground conditions throughout the season.
■ Creating a space considerate of the surrounding environment and players
Mizuno is promoting the creation of spaces that address the environmental issues and physical burdens on players associated with artificial turf grounds.
In the "MS CRAFT series" of artificial turf, the turf blades are curled to suppress pile tearing, addressing the issue of microplastic runoff derived from artificial turf. Additionally, to prevent the runoff of infill materials outside the facility, "HIRAKIN Rise Stadium" features a "fill-free" area around the perimeter of the ground, adopting a design that maintains the landscape while reducing environmental impact. The infill used is the Field Chip "Greentea," which suppresses surface temperature increases by approximately 7°C compared to black rubber chips. This is expected to suppress the rise in ground surface temperature during the summer and reduce the physical burden on players.
Mizuno will continue to promote SDG activities in the sports field sector to achieve sustainable development goals.
▼ Environmentally conscious artificial turf ground design
URL: https://sports-facilities.mizuno.jp/environment/artificial-turf/
(Customer Inquiries) Mizuno Customer Service Center TEL: 0120-320-799
▼ Baseball-specific artificial turf "MS CRAFT BASEBALL TURF-V"
https://sports-facilities.mizuno.jp/service/grass/productlist/baseballturf-v/
"HIRAKIN Rise Stadium" is located alongside the Asahi River, a first-class river flowing through the center of Okayama Prefecture. In recent years, a significant issue has been the generation of fine marine plastic waste known as "microplastics," caused by artificial turf blades and infill materials washing out of facilities due to deterioration from long-term use or improper maintenance.
To address these challenges, this renovation features the adoption of "MS CRAFT BASEBALL TURF-V," a baseball-specific artificial turf sold since 2022 that helps reduce environmental impact, in the outfield. This artificial turf has blades with approximately 1.7 times the strength of conventional products*1, which reduces the tearing and scattering of blades over long-term use, contributing to a lower environmental footprint. This is the same artificial turf used at the Belluna Dome, home of the Saitama Seibu Lions. Furthermore, equipment has been installed to prevent the runoff of turf and infill materials. While serving as a full-scale softball stadium, the design aims to create a space that is considerate of the surrounding local ecosystem.
*1 Our company's straight-pile artificial turf
Taking the "HIRAKIN Rise Stadium" project as a starting point, we will continue to promote the development of dedicated softball stadiums and environmentally conscious sports facilities.
**Features of "HIRAKIN Rise Stadium"**
"HIRAKIN Rise Stadium" is a softball-dedicated facility surrounded by rich nature, including mountains and rivers, serving as the home ground for the Hirabayashi Metal Co., Ltd. softball team. By adopting the "MS CRAFT series" artificial turf for the outfield—which is used in professional baseball stadiums both domestically and internationally and was selected for the Ministry of the Environment's "Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) Project" to promote excellent environmental technologies—the facility design aims to balance professional-grade stadium specifications with consideration for the natural environment.
■ "MS CRAFT BASEBALL TURF-V" with improved durability, shape recovery, and shock absorption
The baseball-specific artificial turf "MS CRAFT BASEBALL TURF-V" features an increased pile thickness from the conventional 280㎛ to 400㎛, resulting in improved durability, long-term stability, shock absorption, and aesthetics. This reduces environmental impact and lessens the physical burden on players, providing stable ground conditions throughout the season.
■ Creating a space considerate of the surrounding environment and players
Mizuno is promoting the creation of spaces that address the environmental issues and physical burdens on players associated with artificial turf grounds.
In the "MS CRAFT series" of artificial turf, the turf blades are curled to suppress pile tearing, addressing the issue of microplastic runoff derived from artificial turf. Additionally, to prevent the runoff of infill materials outside the facility, "HIRAKIN Rise Stadium" features a "fill-free" area around the perimeter of the ground, adopting a design that maintains the landscape while reducing environmental impact. The infill used is the Field Chip "Greentea," which suppresses surface temperature increases by approximately 7°C compared to black rubber chips. This is expected to suppress the rise in ground surface temperature during the summer and reduce the physical burden on players.
Mizuno will continue to promote SDG activities in the sports field sector to achieve sustainable development goals.
▼ Environmentally conscious artificial turf ground design
URL: https://sports-facilities.mizuno.jp/environment/artificial-turf/
(Customer Inquiries) Mizuno Customer Service Center TEL: 0120-320-799