Robotic mowers for sports pitches: using the iMOW® team function
robot mowers for large lawns, such as the STIHL iMOW® 7 Pro, are a future-proof and cost-efficient solution for sports pitches.
01.06.2026
Robotic mower – suitable for large areas?
Are robotic mowers also suitable for large sports areas? This is an easy question to answer, as the iMOW® 7 team function can be used to maintain larger lawn areas even up to 8,000 square metres. This is done through the smart pairing of multiple units.
This achieves flawless quality on sports turf, impressively demonstrating that the STIHL iMOW® 7 Pro delivers outstanding mowing performance for large areas.
SSC Sand and its experience with iMOW
A team of three STIHL iMOW® 7 Pro robotic mowers takes care of the SC Sand grass sports pitch; 7,500 square metres of lawn needs to be maintained to keep the sports field level and playable.
Lesly Huber, greenkeeper at the SC Sand sports pitch, knows from her own experience that using a robotic lawn mower on the sports field saves time and money.
Advantages of robotic lawn mowers for sports pitches
Using robotic mowers for sports pitches offers several decisive advantages when it comes to maintaining an attractive sports turf:
- Stimulates root growth for healthy grass: Robotic lawn mowers for sports pitches stimulate root growth of grass by means of regular mowing. This increases the shear strength, or stability of the turf, which can be measured by professionals using a torque meter. Wolfgang Henle, a graduate engineer in horticulture, is one of these experts.
- High turf stability under heavy stress: Henle knows that for smooth training, high turf stability and an uninterrupted, even-growing lawn surface are ideal. Because then, even under high stress, the blades of grass will not get torn quickly.
- Optimal reuse of clippings for fertilisation: The finely shredded grass is not disposed of as clippings, but instead distributed on the field. This means that nutrients from the lawn are fed directly back to the soil. As such it functions as organic fertiliser for better grass growth.
- Perfect cutting results in larger areas: Many people assume that compact robotic mowers are very small and have to make lots of trips over the grass, so their tracks become visible and lawn quality deteriorates – but with a trio of STIHL iMOW® 7 Pro mowers that is far from true, and perfect cutting results are achieved even on larger areas of up to 8,000 square metres.
iMOW® 7 team function
With the iMOW® 7 team function, up to three robotic mowers work together to uniformly maintain a 7,500-square-metre football pitch. One advantage is that, in the event of a breakdown, the two remaining lawn mowers can still mow the sports field.
The team installation of three iMOW® 7 Pro mowers at SC Sand is active up to three times a week, fully mowing the area and ensuring a professional cutting pattern. The team function is set once a week via the MY iMOW® app, which is outlined in more detail below.
Mowing management with the MY iMOW® app
There are clear advantages to using the MY iMOW® app for controlling robotic mowers: Thanks to the team function, even large lawns can be easily mowed by multiple lawn mowers at the same time – this feature can only be used with the app.
All settings can be intuitively adjusted in the app – there is no need to tiresomely press buttons on the robotic mower. You can download the MY iMOW® robotic mower app from the App Store or Google Play.
You can conveniently configure the usage plans of all robotic mowers remotely and coordinate them with the football teams’ training plans – so the players never notice the robotic mowers and can always train on a freshly mown area.
The exact cutting height can be set in the app.
The exact cutting height can also be set via the app, to optimally match the requirements of a specific sports field. The sensitivity of the rain sensor can also be adjusted via the app. For example, it can be programmed so that the mowing process is interrupted in the event of rain, or not started at all.
The MY iMOW® app is professionally pre-installed by your STIHL dealer and the robotic mower is pre-configured accordingly, so you can start using it immediately.
Important questions and answers
Fully automatic robotic mowers such as the STIHL iMOW® 7 Pro are ideal for large areas, achieving an evenly grown, uniform football turf.
The STIHL iMOW® 7 Pro has the added advantage of a team function, which allows multiple lawn mowers to be used at once.
For maintaining sports pitches, up to three robotic lawn mowers can be used together via the team function. This means that the grass on the football pitch can be maintained several times a week.
Compared to a large-area mower, the initial cost of a STIHL robotic mower is higher. However, the acquisition costs are balanced out after two to three years of use.
Charging management is automatic for a robotic mower team. Thanks to high-performance lithium-ion batteries, they can work uninterrupted for a long time.
The other two robotic lawnmowers will continue working until the faulty robotic lawnmower is ready for use again.
The lawn is then mowed with the usual team strength to achieve an optimal cutting result.
Yes, robotic mowers are good for lawn quality. Regular mowing promotes root growth and thereby increases the stability of the turf.
What’s more, clippings do not need to be disposed of, meaning that nutrients from the grass are directly returned to the soil again.
Yes, robotic mowers recognise the boundaries of a sports pitch after they are marked out with perimeter wire.
Obstacles such as gate posts can be detected by ultrasonic sensors, and mowing close to the boundary lawn is performed at a controlled speed.
First download the MY iMOW® app to your smartphone or tablet, follow the next steps, and create a user account.
You will next need to enter a device password for theft protection. Add a Wi-Fi connection and complete setup.
