FOOTBALL


average around fifty-six days of frost and thirty-nine days of fog in the winter season; this has given the ground the nickname “The Stage of Pneumonia”. But we are also experiencing very hot summers with dozens of days hovering around 40O


C. In the last


few years, the winters have not been so cruel to us, especially to the turf, but temperatures, humidity and the lack of sun can be a real problem in the winter months.


When was the last pitch reconstruction?


The last reconstruction was carried out July- August 2019 to allow the stadium capacity to increase with the installation of 1594 new seats. For this to happen, the old perimeter moat protecting the pitch from crowd invasions was demolished. The pitch subsoil was removed at a depth of 1.8 metres to make way for five new rows of seating. This is the first phase of the integral reform project of José Zorrilla, which the club plans to carry out in four phases.


The work had to be carried out in record


time, with construction company Sport Relva taking on the project. After excavating the old pitch, they started to install a new drainage system, laying pipes at 2.5-metre intervals; this was separated from the sub- base by a geotextile. Upwards of the drains


Historically, we average around fifty-six days of frost and thirty-nine


”


days of fog in the winter season; this has given the ground the nickname The Stage of Pneumonia’


48 PC April/May 2021 Antonio Blanco García Del Pino, Grounds Manager at Real Valladolid C.F.


is a 20cm gravel mattress, 4cm sealing layer of extra thick sand and 25cm of two types of sands of a specific composition. We added zeolite and amendments; we did not add any organic matter to the profile. After levelling, we placed a mesh between the top layer of the profile and the top. This type of construction gives the field tremendous strength and stability. We are delighted with the performance.


What are the dimensions of the pitch? The pitch measures 105m x 68m.


Does the pitch have any shaded areas throughout the day?


Fortunately, the stadium is well orientated, with the longitudinal axis from north to south. The stadium’s structure in the south stand is quite open, so it lets enough direct sunlight pass through for most of the year. However, in the winter months, when the sun goes down, we do have shade problems in the south and, to a lesser extent, in the west of the stadium. The south receives virtually no sun from the end of


November to March and the west, during the same period, does not receive enough sun. To help improve these areas, we tested LED technology two years ago and, last winter, we tested SGL’s High-Pressure Sodium lights. After realising their effectiveness in enhancing the turf’s quality in the most needed areas, we have just invested in seven of SGL's latest model lighting rigs in varied sizes. We received these in autumn; they will give us the versatility we require for our and future needs, especially if the south stand is expanded.


Besides the grow lights, we use Domen- Green thermal blankets, which are a breathable, 80g/m2


micro-drilled


polypropylene, to counteract low temperatures and frosts, on all our natural grass pitches during December to March, giving spectacular results. They have proved to be an essential element in our maintenance practices.


The club had planned to install an underground heating system for the stadium pitch this summer, but the circumstances


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