NEWS | JULY 2021


SCX SCORES DENLEY HYDRAULICS AFTER INSTALLING ‘WORLD’S FIRST’ DIVIDING RETRACTABLE FOOTBALL PITCH


R Stadium with grow lights


Tottenham Hotspur FC, in London. Based in Sheffield, SCX provides


S


bespoke engineered solutions, to complex mechanical handling and lifting challenges for the nuclear, defence, aviation and architecture sectors. For example, it designed and built


the retractable roofs for Centre Court and No.1 Court for the All England Lawn Tennis Club at Wimbledon. Denley Hydraulics is based in


West Yorkshire and has over 50 years of experience in the design and manufacture of electro-hydraulic lifting systems. Talking aboug the acquisition, Jon Nock, MD, Denley, said: “As hydraulics are a key element in many SCX projects, a closer collaboration made great sense for both businesses.” Working in collaboration with Denley,


SCX designed and installed retractable real grass surfaces, where in under 25 minutes, the 9,000 tonne Premier League pitch splits into three trays, weighing more than 3,000 tonnes each, and moves into a storage area beneath the South Stand to reveal an NFL American football field. “Look closely at SCX’s dividing


retractable pitch at Tottenham Hotspur and you’ll find components familiar to anyone who works in the lifting industry. That’s no coincidence, as SCX Special Projects was born from decades of overhead lifting and mechanical handling,” said Danny Pickard, projects director, SCX. “The three pitch-long sections that roll out from beneath the South Stand are


CX has acquired Denley Hydraulics, which it partnered with to install the ‘World’s first’ dividing retractable pitch at


R The pitch retracting


on steel rails embedded in the stadium floor. Just like an overhead gantry crane, the pitch sections roll along the rails on steel wheels, attached to end carriages. “Each of the three pitch-long sections


are made up of 33 smaller ‘pitch trays’. Imagine 33 gantry cranes all bolted together. The difference is a central grooved rail, into which a carriage with flanged wheels sits, keeping the pitch travelling straight and helping to eliminate crabbing. “The pendant controls would be


familiar too, as would the electrical panels and enclosures, and other EC&I equipment such as limit switches, drives, motors, PLCs and more. EC&I plays an important role, of course, ensuring everything operates reliably, repeatably and – above all – safely. “Once the pitch has rolled out fully,


the three sections have 1 metre gaps between them, which need closing up. Here is where a combination of inverted rails, idler wheels and hydraulic actuators come into play. The rails face downwards and rest on idlers set into the pitch trays. The actuators gently push the pitch inwards, overcoming the rolling resistance and bringing the three pitch sections seamlessly together. “Then, some more heavy lifting is needed, as the touchline, pitch surround and access ramps are still at NFL level, 1.8 metres below where they need to be. Hydraulic lifting rams are used in a number of carefully choreographed motions to raise the pitch surround to Premier League level. “First, the banks of 14-metre, 7-tonne


steel flaps that form the touchline are pivoted open. Then, the two touchlines, each over 500 tonnes in total, are raised


R The pitch surround flaps raised


R The hydraulic power pack


through nearly two metres. Locking plates move into place, before the truss is gently lowered onto them, temporarily relieving the hydraulic system of its lifting duties. Ramps attached to the pitch surround are pivoted and rest on the touchline, following along as it’s raised or lowered. “Another hydraulically pivoting flap runs the width of the pitch at the North End of the stadium. It too pivots open, rising and falling depending on what’s happening in the stadium. This one hides another little secret though – it’s the storage area for the pitch grow light system,” added Pickard. SCX designed the grow light


deployment system, which uses hydraulic lifting rams to deploy six grow light gantries, each 75 metres long, one at a time up to pitch level from the storage area.


Hidden along the length of the pitch’s


touchline, just below the surface, is another set of steel rails. The grow lights have folding end carriages that pivot open to position their steel wheels on the touchline rails, before travelling the full length of the pitch under electric power, just like a gantry crane, and without touching the pitch’s pristine surface. ●


www.hoistmagazine.com | July 2021 | 15


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