Our 2023 summer pitch renovations are now underway at the Crown Oil Arena.
The contractors moved onto site this morning to begin the work, which is expected to continue through till Monday.
Head groundsman Josh Haigh has provided an update on the work that is taking place.
"The reason it gets done is because every year we put sand, fertiliser, and organic matter on (the pitch) throughout the season," said Josh.
"We do a renovation every year to get all of that off.
"To start the top is taken off so we can get down to the stitching and so that we can get as many fibres stood up as we can.
"The surface is then nice and clean.
"It’s essential that we get the top layer off to ensure that we go into the new season with the cleanest surface possible. That will be it for the first day.
"On Saturday the seed will go on.
"We'll apply the seed, which will be thirty bags of ICL Pro Select seed. That gets bedded in with a Dimple Seeder.
"The process after that is the top dressing of 60-tonne MM40 sand from Mansfield Sand. And then on Sunday, we verti-drain into that and then we go on with the drag mat. Dragging in all the sand and seeds, they will then go down into the holes. Leaving the surface clean.
"After that on Monday, we’ll go on with our fertiliser plan. Once the fertiliser is on it’s a case of just watering it.
"The first game back is the 23rd of July which is a rugby game and then our football one is the week after against Bradford, so we’ve got a good six weeks for it to get ready ahead of the first game."
