Winter Sports - Rugby World Cup


The stadium's capacity is now 31,000, and tickets for September’s Rugby World Cup games have long gone


a final decision to include it as a venue was made about a year ago. England Rugby 2015 CEO, Debbie Jevans,


who was Director of Sport for the 2012 London Olympics, has vowed that this Rugby World Cup will be “an accessible tournament, open to all”. The strong underlying aim within rugby is to do the utmost to grow the home game. Both the Pool B games at the Amex, the


aforementioned Springboks v Japan clash and the following day’s between Samoa and the USA, have long been sold out. That’s 31,000 twice over and, apparently, there were over 280,000 ticket applications, which says a lot about the stadium’s pulling power. Steve is every ounce an Albion man; a supporter since a boy and now in charge of its wonderful stadium pitch. The club is in his blood. He cares about it. Things for Steve and the club have


changed dramatically in recent years. Since the demise of its beloved Goldstone


Ground, sold to forestall debts in 1997, the club went into exile for thirteen seasons, first and briefly sharing Gillingham’s Priestfield, then as tenants at Brighton and Hove City Council’s Withdean Stadium. After lengthy and difficult planning hurdles in 2011, it finally moved into its stylish new home on the east side of Brighton, whose City status since the Millennium surely deserved such a sleek sporting venue. Steve's been in the turf industry about


twenty-five years. His career began in landscaping and then at the East Sussex National Golf Course where, for two years, he was an assistant greenkeeper, and he proudly recalls having the privilege of cutting the final three greens at the 1992 European Open. After spells in grounds maintenance at


private schools in the area, he moved on to be a groundsman at the University of Sussex, eventually becoming head groundsman there. At this time, in the mid 1990s, when still at the Goldstone, Brighton and Hove Albion was using the University’s pitches for training and Steve became quite close to the inner workings of the club, and remained so as it entered its homeless years. The move to the Withdean in 1999 was


pivotal for Steve. He left his job at the University that year and was, soon after, taken on by the Albion as a permanent pitch consultant to monitor and assist with pitch conditions, but with the Council still doing the actual pitch work. “The club’s Board wanted to make sure


money was being used wisely,” said Steve. “The Withdean was a shady and cold spot for a Football League pitch. Decent surface conditions were difficult to achieve.”


PC APRIL/MAY 2015 I 51


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