The Pitch…..what can be done about it?

Work on the pitch starts Monday after Newport game which is earlier than last season due to Carlisle play off game

 

Thanks Roger!

 

I'm guessing if we are laying a new pitch an home friendly of some description will be a necessity to test it out.

Can't get to the first game of the season and find it cutting up or "false" areas appearing which could be dangerous

 

As I’ve explained several times it’s a new pitch every season. Top korrowed off, new fibre sand around 180 tonnes then reseeded.

 

I wasn't debating that, it was a reference to comments about it being a good idea to hold all friendlies away from VP

 

I suppose fans need to feel assured that everything that is necessary to keep the pitch in a good playing condition is being carried out. The two drainage systems need checking and maintaining. Other than what we already do is there anything else we can do. We could purchase the very expensive type pitch that the PL have, that is probably beyond our reach financially. We could look at physical protection again and see what is the latest for both frost and rain.

 

It's surely all about learnings made very well in your last two paragraphs

 

We only put very minimal covers on for rain as it has very little benefit, also when the rain hits the covers where is it going to go? There's only so much you can do about frost without spending huge money on undersoil heating. The frost covers go down to around -4 and when we had the Doncaster game postponed the temperature at pitch level was -7/8. You can have the best frost covers in the world but if you have an evening game when the temperature drops below freezing like it did for the Liverpool game then there's nothing you can do about it. It seems that the Liverpool and Stockport games did the irreversible damage to the pitch which was made worse by the the issues in the summer with the delayed pitch work and broken sprinkler. As long as there are no issues with this like there wasn't for the last few summers there's no reason our pitch can't look like it did at the end of the last few season where it looked perfectly fine. This is the pitch for the last home game in the last 3 seasons. Currently this is a 1 off season since the major pitch work taken out, if, this time next year the pitch is looking like it is now then it's a different story.

 

Why can’t we have one of these? How much do they cost? We could ask fans to help pay for it?

 

Very much like what Leicester used to have at Filbert Street

 

How much will that cost to buy then run? If systems like this were so good and affordable clubs would have them.

 

The covers aren’t designed for anything other than frost protection . No idea where this rain “ protection “ idea originated ?

 

Cost ? Hang on to your hat?

 

Spot on.

 

Rod, the Club have examined the domed covers. There are issues associated such as (as you speculate), rain water run off which will need perimeter drains enhancing, running costs and capital cost of the dome itself and machinery to inflate and maintain inflation. I know the costs were looked at over two years ago but I wouldn't want to guess a figure my failing memory can't recall, I know it was a surprise to me just waht a big figure it was but not guessing.

 

Work starts tomorrow on the pitch for next season.