Winter Sports
venue in Yorkshire and, over the last 143 years, the club has continued to go from strength to strength, not only in terms of sporting achievements, but in the development of its stadium. 1963 saw the installation of undersoil heating, only three years after the first system in Britain was installed at Murrayfield, followed by the installation of floodlights three years later.
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More recently, a major renovation included new changing room facilities and the addition of state-of-the-art banqueting suites. The South Stand was refurbished in 2000 for the first time since 1938, followed by the construction of the new Carnegie Stand in 2005, increasing the grounds capacity to 22,500. The Carnegie Stand was developed in partnership with Leeds Metropolitan University, with twelve lecture rooms being incorporated into the building to provide a permanent base for the University’s sports related courses over the next fifteen years.
It was also in 2005 that the club began looking into the possibility of replacing the stadium’s pitch, which had not been renovated since the undersoil heating was laid in the 1960s.
Out with the old…
After monitoring the surface and assessing the pros and cons of replacing the pitch, it was decided a complete renovation was required and Caddick Construction was appointed as the management company for the project. “Our role was to project manage the
entire pitch construction on behalf of Leeds Rugby, ensuring all tasks were completed correctly and on time. Another of our responsibilities was the appointment of key contractors,” explains Neil Murray, the company’s Site Manager. “We selected Clive Richardson Ltd (CLR)
eadingley Stadium was built in the 1880s, with the first game being played on the 20th September 1890. It quickly became the premier sporting
as our main contractor due to its reputation and experience with similar projects, as well as its strong relationships with a number of suppliers.” Once on board, Clive Richardson
worked closely with TGMS Ltd, a sports turf consultancy practice who designed the whole pitch project. Tim Colclough, Director of Agronomy at TGMS Ltd, whose other clients include Sunderland, Chelsea, and Middlesbrough football clubs, was involved in the pitch design and construction from the very beginning: “We conducted our feasibility studies, including an initial site survey and a comprehensive site assessment a few years ago, so all of the ground work had been completed when we submitted our initial designs. Once the designs had been approved and the other suppliers and contractors selected, the first stage of the project was to lay the drainage system.”
The pitch has been designed to be
crowned rather than flat, with the pitch centre raised 20cm above the edges, to help aid drainage. In addition to this, 80mm lateral drains have been laid at 4 metre intervals across the pitch, with 160mm collectors being installed around its perimeter. Four inspection chambers were also built into the design to allow easy access to the drainage system for monitoring and maintenance purposes. “Once the drainage and foundation work was complete, we added a 150mm layer of gravel to the top of the existing subsoil to form the basis for the all important upper layers of the pitch,” concludes Tim. Following the installation of the gravel, sand, and rootzone layers, the original 1960s undersoil heating was replaced by contractors, Ken Pryor & Sons Ltd. Over twenty-six miles of undersoil heating pipes were laid and the new system was first put to the test on Boxing Day 2012, when the pitch was used for the first time in a friendly between Leeds Rhinos and Wakefield Trinity Wildcats.
“Twenty-six miles of undersoil heating pipes were laid and the new system was first put to the test on Boxing Day 2012”
APRIL/MAY 2013 PC 73
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