Marshalling his troops - Pitchcare

ooting, attention to the daily
maintenance includes monitoring
irrigation, aeration and nutrition. The
lighting rigs enable us to energise the
plant. Concentrate on the roots and the
grass will thrive. We are trying to grow it
down not up. Ideally, a period for
growing-in the surface is advised, with a
minimum of fourteen days.
Turf selection includes stadia and
farm visits. Assessing the turf on the
farm is required. Assessing the turf in a
stadium environment offers a greater
understanding of the turf ’s suitability.
The time taken to transport the turf is
a consideration, and the option to cool
it, in transit, is considered in the warmer
months when working in Scandinavia.
Assessments of the turf are carried out
at the turf farm including:
Turf strength
Grass species composition (Poa pratensis
providing lateral strength, Lollium
perenne good wear and recovery)
Pest and diseases
Rootzone - particle size distribution and
compatibility
Turf maturity
Turf maintenance prior to harvesting
(nutrition, dressing, cutting height)
Moving On Up
Managing stadiums as a business
enables development of the turf
manager’s role.
Economic responsibilities and
understanding are a part of our daily
work.
There are currently four full-time
grounds persons managing the stadium
and three at the training ground
pitches. The standard produced in
recent years is a credit to the team effort
of Daniel, Matt, Pete and Thomas, the
“green team” as we are collectively
known in Parken
The operations department are also
key to the success of the pitch. With the
resources and challenges we face, it is
vital that all involved are working
together. My role is somewhere between
the green team and the operations.
Developing a positive approach, and
appreciating the commercial
responsibilities of our business, is
important to progress the turf industry.
When proposals are discussed
concerning usage of a pitch, educating
the planners will enable us to become
part of the plan.
Stadiums will continue to stage non
sporting events. Investing in stadiums
and pitch systems is expensive and
clubs/companies are required to recover
their costs. There are solutions to all the
challenges.
Pitch protection systems allow the
pitch to survive, lighting rigs encourage
growth in shaded areas, turf installations
offer full pitch recovery.
Managing the numerous events on the
pitch offers the opportunity to learn and
progress as a turf manager
It’s Only Rock and Roll but we like it!
The modern
stadium pitch
manager ...
By Carl Pass, Director of
Premier Pitches Ltd
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 visiting
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 often undertaken
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.
So, where does this leave the person
entrusted with producing a surface
which will cater for all the needs of a
professional football club?
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 maximising
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
“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” ...continued over