Educational Establishments
“
The Pro Cut is a favourite - good for striping and makes the turf look mint and it’s not too much of a heavyweight
compared with the solid rollers we once used
Metropolitan University) caused a sensation when built in the 1960s. “It was the athletes village during the 2002 Games,” Mike comments. The Manchester Grammar School, whose sports pitches were used in the run‐up to the London 2012 Olympics, is in the distance.
The natural turf has hosted some worthy visitors. Two years ago, Manchester United FC’s U16s were on site for the International Nike Cup. Real Madrid and Barcelona have trained at Armitage Sports Centre too, in readiness for Champions League action. The Bobby Charlton Soccer School and the Manchester Youth Games also figure, as have trials for LA Galaxy recently, giving local lads a chance to display their skills. The lush green surfaces betray more than the result of recent relentless rainfall.
What’s the secret? “Our contractor comes in and applies chicken muck,” reveals Scott. “We try to adopt a green strategy.” I think that qualifies.”
“They verti‐drain and topdress every Christmas time. Not bad looking for the end of the football season, are they?” Impressive.
“We have plenty of fixtures to fulfil still. The MUFC Girls Academy matches every Saturday morning, BUCS first, second, third and fourth teams, the Roy Little Cup [due to be played on 5 May] and an Old Mancunians match that day also.”
I wondered if the surfaces were this luxurious for the 1893 FA Cup Final, contested by Wolverhampton Wanderers and Everton at the then Fallowfield Stadium before a bulging 60,000 crowd, which is
reported to have spilled out on to the pitch, delaying the game.
Whilst I’m still musing, Scott pops up with: “I met George Best here in 1992 when he was doing a video shoot.” Seems the great and the good have been out in force both here and at Wythenshawe. Ryan Giggs, Peter Schmeichel, Michael Owen and David Beckham, filming on one of the old ‘Astroturf’ pitches before the surfaces were replaced with new carpet in 1989 and 1995. “Don’t forget Manchester City’s Joe Royle and Asa Hartford who trained here and at Wythenshawe,” Scott chirps up. As a suffering Man Utd fan, I let any references to ‘the noisy neighbours’ flow by harmlessly. Given the welter of fixtures and sports undertaken on the synthetics, it’s little wonder goalsposts are plentiful ‐ full‐size,
68 I PC JUNE/JULY 2018
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 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156
