Professional football pitch management is no longer about providing a surface which will withstand the rigours of 90 minutes of football, any league groundsman will testify to this.
Groundsmen now have the additional pressure of providing a surface that will be used for a pre-match warm-up which can last up to 30 minutes. There are also half time activities including penalty shootouts, marching bands, dancers and junior matches played across the pitch. In addition, many teams now insist on a warm-down after the match which, in some cases, becomes a full-blown training session for squad players not involved in the 90 minutes of action which has just unfolded.
Success in European competitions brings additional burdens as travelling teams have access to the match pitch for training sessions on the day prior to the tie being played. Other events such as music concerts bring in much needed revenue to clubs who are in the business of making money by what ever means to support their main objective, which is to be successful on the pitch.
All these activities are undertaken often in grounds which have either evolved into multi-use venues or, worse still, have been designed with little or no thought to the well being of the pitch. The consequence of such relentless use is a degenerated surface which may suffer from compaction, poor drainage, little or no grass cover and uneven levels.
Clubs will not reduce the height of stands to reduce the impact of shade, nor will they open up corners of the stadium to allow increased air movement or reduce the amount of additional activity on the pitch during match days and in the close season. It is my view that we must take a positive stance to the situation by adopting a new philosophy of preparing new pitches rather than repairing old ones.
Come the end of the season, clubs who wish to maintain a high standard of playing surface whilst maximizing revenue from other opportunities must accept that the pitch has done its job and replace it. Particularly in a stadium environment where the groundsman is essentially growing grass indoors, beginning the season with a new pitch offers the greatest opportunity for the surface to withstand the difficult environment it is expected to perform within. Stadium pitches in general have improved tremendously over the past ten years, which is a credit to all involved including groundsmen, researchers and manufacturers of specialist turf maintenance equipment. I'm fortunate to work alongside progressive agronomists and the new generation of sports turf managers/groundsmen, who realize the advantages of preparing a new pitch, rather than repairing an old one.
The first stage of pitch preparation is then complete. It is then up to the groundsman to use his skill and the relevant technology available to him to produce and maintain the new sward.
He can carry out this work in the knowledge that he has a completely refreshed rootzone, free from any layering and its associated problems. Drainage rates will be increased considerably preventing waterlogging during the wetter winter months. The sward will be made up of new grass plants all establishing seminal roots which will form the basis of a strong root mass, essential for durability. The weedgrass Poa annul will be largely eradicated to the point when it is no longer a problem and the whole pitch will be in better condition than it would have been if it was a pitch renovated from the previous season.
The work I've described is more expensive than standard renovation but not so high that it should not be within the budget of any professional football club. Those with very limited budgets could achieve an acceptable result by fraize mowing to clean out the vegetation and overfeeding, enabling them to begin each season with a new sward.
To get the very best from the playing surface, new pitch preparation should be carried out each year. In reality, budgetary constraints and other issues, such as restricted timescale, may prevent it. From my experience of working across the UK and in Europe, it should be a major consideration for any club who want to maximise both pitch performance and profitability.
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