Winter Sports
Every available bit of wall space is used to store the lighting rigs
Roy dedicates so much of his time to researching new pitch technology and management techniques, that some people joke he loves grass more than his wife!
The Etihad pitch in pristine condition ahead of the match
seen a substantial investment into the pitches and training grounds in recent years. It was only three years ago we featured an article describing the £2.5 million being invested at the stadium, Carrington and Platt Lane.
Since then, the club has continued to invest. As mentioned earlier, a new Desso pitch was installed at the stadium in 2010 at a cost of £800,000, along with new machinery and resources for the ongoing maintenance of all of the club’s pitches. The latest project - a new £200 million training ground adjacent to the Etihad - is currently at the start of construction with completion set for June 2014. If successful, the facility will boast sixteen and a half full size pitches (fourteen and a half natural grass and two top spec artificials - one indoor and one outdoor) with a raft of community use buildings. Roy joined the club in 2001, after working at Blackburn Rovers training ground for twelve years. He manages a team of twelve staff across all the sites and isn’t afraid to trial different products. In order to keep track of his work, Roy keeps a diary of any problems he encounters, large or small, along with his actions to rectify them. Roy dedicates so much of his time to
Turf rolls are craned into the Bird’s Nest - the only machinery used!
researching new technology and management techniques, in order to improve the overall playing performance
Game on
of the pitches, that some people joke he loves grass more than his wife! But, Roy counters that he enjoys being at the top of his profession, and that it’s important for him to understand the new products on the market, and to be able to choose the very best to establish and maintain the pitches to the highest possible standard.
This year alone, Roy has been on two fact finding missions for the club, one to recce the pre-season venues in France, Portugal and Austria to choose the most suitable training pitch facilities, and the other to inspect and oversee the laying of a new pitch at the Bird’s Nest Stadium in Beijing for the club’s pre-season friendly against Arsenal. Roy spent a week in Beijing ensuring that the final playing surface would be safe and level for the fixture. This involved preparing the surface levels, ensuring the big roll turf was of uniform thickness, and remained in good condition whilst waiting to be laid. It was important that it did not sweat in the humid conditions. Butting the turf together, smoothing the joints and rolling to firm and maintain levels is a relatively straightforward job in the UK when you have all the correct equipment but, in the Bird’s Nest, the whole job was done by hand. The only machinery used was a crane to lift the rolls into the
The turf is laid by hand - over seventy labourers are required
Roy Rigby checks the playing surface at the Bird’s Nest
56 PC DECEMBER/JANUARY 2013
The Man City groundstaff on matchday duty (l-r): Lee Metcalf (Head Groundsman at Carrington), Roy Rigby (Grounds Manager), Lee Jackson, Liam Cash, Craig Knight, Steve Maloney, Darren Farnell and Daniel Lewis
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140