pitch through to the end of the season. Materials should be ordered and
provision made to store them safely away from the elements as required. Bulk materials, such as Fibresand or Fibrelastic, need to be ordered in advance and a delivery time and date agreed. As soon as the club’s corporate department has finished with the pitch, and all coverings are removed, the contractor should be on site ready to commence work. The existing pitch surface should be stripped using a Koro TopMaker, a superb piece of equipment that has revolutionised the way pitches are renovated. The Koro strips the entire surface, removing all organic accumulations, leaving a clean, debris-free rootzone which can then be worked with to produce the desired playing surface.
Initial cultivation can then commence to
break up any pans or layering which may be present within the top 100mm of the pitch profile. This work also serves as the ultimate form of aeration, as it redistributes particles around the profile and allows any anaerobic conditions to become oxygenated. Should any soil conditioners, such as seaweed or granulated lime stone and fertilisers be required, they should be applied at this stage to ensure they are thoroughly incorporated in to the vital top100mm of rootzone.
Once initial cultivations are complete and, dependent upon the specification, it would be normal practice to apply new rootzone material, which is often Fibresand or Fibrelastic. This is intended to replenish any material lost during the
removal of the surface. It’s important to use a specially adapted drop spreader capable of handling this type of material without bridging or blocking as work progresses.
The evenly spread material can then be integrated in to the top 100mm by further cultivation, normally with a rotary harrow. At this stage, visual inspection will dictate how many passes with the cultivator are required to produce an evenly blended rootzone. The final pass will be made and levels trimmed to be consistent with those of the original construction. Consolidation will be required next. This is a vital aspect of the works and should be carried out evenly and accurately all over the pitch to achieve consistent results. As work progresses, it may be necessary to irrigate at this stage to maintain a degree of moisture in the immediate surface, preventing the separation of fibres. Fines in the rootzone can also find there way onto the surface as a dusty residue if irrigation is not available, causing problems later in the season by impeding surface drainage. Fine finishing is a vital aspect of achieving the end result. This work should be undertaken by skilled operators using specialist machinery and equipment. When surface levels are seen to be satisfactory, the next stage of the works can commence.
The pitch should be over-seeded with a seeder designed specifically for sowing a pitch from scratch. Usually, two passes will be made with this type of machine, but more may be required if the groundsman or consultant dictate otherwise. Finally, the pitch should be flat rolled to seal in the
seed and produce the finished level. The first stage of pitch preparation is then complete. It is then up to the groundsman to use his skill and the relevant technology available to him to produce and maintain the new sward. He can carry out this work in the knowledge that he has a completely refreshed rootzone, free from any layering and its associated problems. Drainage rates will be increased considerably, preventing waterlogging during the wetter winter months. The sward will be made up of new grass plants, all establishing seminal roots, which will form the basis of a strong root mass, essential for durability. The weedgrass Poa annua will be largely eradicated, to the point when it is no longer a problem, and the whole pitch will be in better condition than it would have been if it was a pitch renovated from the previous season.
The work I’ve described is more
expensive than standard renovation, but not so high that it should not be within the budget of any professional football club. Those with very limited budgets could achieve an acceptable result by fraize mowing to clean out the vegetation and overseeding, enabling them to begin each season with a new sward. To get the very best from the playing surface, new pitch preparation should be carried out each year. In reality, budgetary constraints and other issues, such as restricted timescale, may prevent it. From my experience of working across the UK and in Europe, it should be a major consideration for any club who want to maximise both pitch performance and profitability.
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