RENOVATIONS ROUND UP
Name of club
Head Groundsman Number of Staff
Facilities managed number of pitches
Bolton Wanderers FC
Richard Norton Seven
1 x Stadium. 3 + other areas first team training ground. 4 + Synthetic + Other areas Academy Training Ground
Richard Norton Richard Barnett
End of season renovations are a key activity for repairing and rejuvenating winter games pitches.
After a long season many pitches will have lost a fair amount of grass cover and become compacted from the ravages of play.
The extent of wear will be dictated by several factors; the amount of games played, the level of maintenance undertaken and whether the pitch drains adequately.
Even at Premiership level, where, generally, money is no object, and the pitches are amongst the best in the world, end of season renovations will be an essential.
So here’s a snap shot of what end of season renovations are planned across all levels of winter sports venues.
Richard Norton, Head Groundsman at Bolton Wanderers, gives us the ‘Premiership’ view. Division One’s Shrewsbury Town and Hereford United, who employ a contractor for all their groundscare work, and Notts County (Division Two) provide the Football League approach.
There is also an interesting comparison to be made with Stourbridge Football Club who ‘employ’ Ian Pilkington as chief cook and bottle washer!
And finally, two school groundsmen, Ian Smith at St. Albans and Mark Jolliffe at Taunton, outline the work they will be undertaking in readiness for their summer sports activities.
What work will be contracted out?
Are you working to a fixed budget?
Any time constraints? Brief details of pitches
1 x Grassmaster 3 x Soil Ameliorated 4 x Fibresand
All Sites Fixed Budget Stadium - £30,000 First Team - £140,000 Academy - £25.000
Corporate events at the stadium, summer schools at the academy site and pre- season training at the first team site
Proposed programme
Stadium. Clean surface, spiral rake, topdress, reseed. Academy. Fraise mow, topdress, reseed. Topdress 100 tonne per pitch (MF sand). First Team. Reconstruct 1 pitch (Fibresand). Fraise mow remaining 2 (Fibresand). Build new goal keeping area - Grassmaster finish
Hereford United FC
Highground Maintenance Various as required
Main stadium pitch at Edgar Street only
Soil
Around £8,000, which takes the annual budget to almost £20,000, including all materials, wages, machinery
Some flexibility here between mid May and mid June
Vertidrain, Koro, fertilise (300kg), overseed with 400kg of BSH A20, topdress with 60 tonnes of sand
Koroing and topdressing
Koroing will be contracted out. All other work will be carried out by Highground
Name of contractor Aims and objectives
Mallinsons and Danvic
Stadium - Desso starting to bury itself. First team - Ongoing renovation programme and pitch rebuild programme. Academy - New site last year. More funding put into phase 2 works.
Any cutbacks due to the financial downturn?
No Not sure - depends on quotes
To develop a well-rooted, homogenous dwarf rye grass pitch
Not yet!
Any other comments
All renovation programmes are governed by cost. If we were to be relegated out of the Premier league this season, I expect to dramatically cut the programme of works
Ian Smith 86 Mark Jolliffe
Hereford United have been fully supportive of any work we have proposed over the years. Even for a small club like this, the cost of end-of- season renovations is a small percentage of players’ wages
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