The Club’s summer renovations of the Crown Oil Arena pitch started earlier this week.
Work is expected to take around a week (weather permitting, of course!).
We’re delighted to be working with green service provider idverde, who have been appointed by the Club to carry out the works.
Back in February 2018, when the pitch was re-laid prior to our Emirates FA Cup fifth round tie against Tottenham Hotspur, a hybrid pitch was installed at the Crown Oil Arena.
A hybrid pitch system combines artificial fibres with natural grass, and is a system that is in place at most leading Football Clubs.
However, for various reasons, including the time of the year the pitch was laid, and the weather conditions at the Crown Oil Arena, the surface became clogged and resulted in the patchy Crown Oil Arena surface during February and March last season.
This summer’s work will see the top layer of the pitch removed, by a process called fraize mowing, which will reveal the carpet of the hybrid pitch.
A specialist machine will then stand the artificial fibres upright, and sand will be put on to the carpet and embedded around the fibres, allowing them to remain upright. At the same time the surface will be formed to create an even level pitch.
Once all of this has been done, the carpet will be fertilised and, finally, seeded. It is from this time that the growing period from seed to natural grass will begin.
The work being done will help improve the pitch for the coming season, and as we look further ahead to future improvements, we are considering potential problems under the pitch in the sub-soil and the drains, which we plan to tackle when we have done further investigative work and have reviewed how the current work settles down.