3G News Warriors go 3G
Worcester Warriors to lay ‘new infill’ artificial pitch at their Sixways stadium this summer
Worcester Warriors Sixways stadium
Worcester Warriors are set to install a new artificial grass pitch at their Sixways home ahead of the 2016/17 season.
Saracens were the first Premiership side to make the switch to an artificial surface in 2013 and Newcastle Falcons then followed suit, but the Warriors’ new pitch will be different.
The new surface, which will meet all World Rugby synthetic pitch guidelines, will be the first in the UK to feature an organic infill rather than the more widely used rubber crumb made from desiccated car tyres.
The state-of-the-art, all-weather surface will be made by Italian specialists Limonta Sport. It sits on a rugby-specific shock pad and consists of two elements of grass and infill. The grass is Limonta’s Max S Turf and features a resilient upright fibre system, whilst the infill is their new InfillPro Geo.
The ‘grass’ is a carpet, woven and manufactured with special polymer backing that enhances durability, and the organic infill is a natural brown colour and consists of an organic mix, including shredded coconut fibres, and gives the impression of being 100 percent natural as players get muddy rather than suffering friction burns.
The new hypoallergenic surface will be maintained after every ten hours of usage and the Warriors have hired additional trained groundstaff to deliver the maintenance.
Work will begin on the Sixways pitch on Friday 10 June and will be completed by mid-August in preparation for the 2016/17 Aviva Premiership season.
12 I PC APRIL/MAY 2016
Warriors chief executive Jim O’Toole said: “Our stadium pitch is the single most under-utilised asset in the club, currently being used for fewer than 100 hours per season.”
“The structure of our existing playing surface means that we have to allocate eight to ten weeks per summer break to refurbish it, thus removing the possibility of summertime playing usage or commercial activity.”
“This exciting development not only allows us to play more rugby at all levels on our biggest physical asset, but also allows us to establish new commercial revenue streams, such as concerts, festivals and other non-rugby events.”
“It is a significant investment on behalf of the ownership and is another step in our journey to make the business profitable in the long term. To achieve this, we must be able to use the pitch for more than 100 hours per season.”
Limonta Sport have installed more than 650 full-size sport fields worldwide in the last six years for professional football and rugby teams and sit on the RFU framework for UK Rugby pitch suppliers.
Pontypridd v Merthyr
House of Pain to get 3G pitch?
Pontypridd’s iconic Sardis Road pitch set to become artificial amid plans to end mud-bath encounters
The notoriously boggy House of Pain pitch looks set to be ripped up for good and replaced by a 3G pitch like that at Cardiff Arms Park.
Pontypridd RFC’s iconic Sardis Road pitch could become artificial within the next two seasons, if the club’s hierarchy rubber-stamps the proposed switch.
The Welsh Premiership club are considering turning to a synthetic surface at their House of Pain home after years of battling to keep the grass pitch in good condition.
Pontypridd’s recent 6-5 Swalec Cup win against Merthyr will have concentrated the minds of those on the club’s board as the game was played in appalling conditions, with surface water lying on a pitch that became a quagmire by the final whistle.
By the end, some players were completely caked in mud, their kit unrecognisable.
Pontypridd are understood to be weighing up the cost of installing a 3G pitch against what revenue they could potentially recoup from hiring it out for community use.
The move would mirror that taken by Cardiff Blues two seasons ago,
with an artificial surface having been put down at the Arms Park.
It has largely been a success for the capital city outfit who endured problems with a heavy grass field prone to waterlogging for many seasons. The Blues have also reaped the benefits of income received from pitch hire.
Ponty following suit would be resisted by traditionalists and those who see the grass as part of the uniquely challenging environment which greets opposition sides at Sardis Road.
But the club are also keen to move with the times, and to avoid the sort of mud-fest that spoiled the encounter with valley rivals Merthyr. “It is a proposal that is being discussed,” said a Pontypridd spokesman. “No final decision has been made though. It would be a community venture.”
One possible link-up for the club, should they go ahead with the plan, would be with the nearby University of South Wales, whose burgeoning sports department would be keen to make use of the facility.
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