“I am in a very fortunate position of having excellent backing from the senior management at the club”


agents and liquid aeration products.


Unfortunately, there was little we could do to resolve some of the other issues, such as the surface levels and root- zone depth; we have the Desso system which would have to be replaced if these were to be overcome. Up to the end of last year the pitch seemed to be responding to some of the measures we had put in place but, as soon as we reached prolonged spells of wet weather, the surface began to deteriorate. We continued to carry out the maintenance procedures we had decided upon, and even increased our aeration programme. At the start of February we decided to try another option, which was to Dry-Ject the surface. This was an operation we knew had been carried out successfully at Southampton, Wolves and Blackburn. It involves using a pedestrian machine to drill kiln dried sand or other products directly into the soil profile. We applied 17 tonnes of kiln dried sand to the profile to increase the percolation rates. Unfortunately, we had limited success with the operation due to the poor condition of our root-zone and, in hindsight, we had perhaps tried this option too late in the season as a cure rather than prevention in the first instance.


Having tried various options to improve the surface with limited success, and also combined with the problems of surface levels and root-zone depths, I consulted my Stadium Manager, Ray Booth, and informed him that I felt the only course of action would be a full reconstruction of the pitch to enable us to present a suitable surface for the up-coming season. After discussion, this was agreed in principle with the Chief Executive, as we all felt that this would be the ideal time to carry out such an operation as the team had ensured Premiership survival for this season.


I am in a very fortunate position of having excellent


16


backing from the Senior Management at the club, especially the Stadium Manager whose unenviable task it is to present my requests to the Board. Our next task was to decide whether we needed to replace the entire profile of the pitch, including drainage and under soil heating, or just to replace the root-zone and Desso. After investigation of the drainage system using cameras, it was decided that the drainage was corrupted and that we could not take the risk of building a new profile on top of this system. Once we had decided on our course of action we contacted Hewitt Sportsturf, not only because they hold the licence for Desso, but because I feel they are the best in the country at this type of operation having recently completed Wembley and the Emirates Stadium. We met with John Hewitt and, after a series of discussions, agreed that the best way forward was to return the pitch and track to their original levels when the stadium was first constructed. This meant we could leave the existing drainage in place, making it defunct, as the new drainage layer would be above this level. It was also decided that we would engineer the drainage to steeper gradients to counteract any future subsidence. We would also install submersible pump chambers so that drainage would not have to rely on being gravity fed, but could be pumped from the system. It was also agreed to put in upgraded pipework that would allow us to attach mobile Sub-air units in the future, to enable us to circulate air through the drainage system and into the profile.


Because of the relatively short time frame we had to do this work, we planned for the operation to be carried out so that one side of the pitch would be completed before the other; the Desso machines could make a start whilst the other side was


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