SPORTS PITCHES
Wembley brings in new pitch for season opener
embley Stadium ,
W connected by EE , will have a new stateof-the-art pitch in place for this week ’ s FA Community Shield between Manchester City FC and Arsenal FC .
The FA Community Shield is the traditional curtain-raiser to a new football season . Last year ’ s contest was moved to the King Power Stadium in Leicester while Wembley Stadium hosted the UEFA Women ’ s Euro ‘ 22 Final .
The fixture returns to its usual home this week , with the Wembley groundsteam adding the final touches to a playing surface , which over the summer played host to sell-out concerts attended by over half a million people . The fact Wembley Stadium is ready to host such a prestigious football match , so soon after concert season , is down to the latest advancement in pitch technology . The hybrid carpet ‘ Lay and Play ’ grass pitch was grown off site , on a turf farm hundreds of miles away from the stadium . Link to timelapse video here : https :// drive . google . com / drive / folders / 1HEHX2zIwjzPx _ wLp7qjQ6YzdbSNhD1HS ? usp = sharing
Once it was ready , more than 720 rolls of the hallowed turf were put on a number of lorries and transported to the stadium , before it was laid out last week . At 10 metres long by 1.2 metres ( which if end to end would be 7km in length ), the whole install took 60 hours to complete .
Wembley Stadium ’ s Grounds Manager Karl Standley said : “ Lay and Play is a game-changer for a multi-purpose venue like Wembley Stadium . Previously , it might have taken up to five weeks after a concert to get a pitch ready for a football fixture . Now this can be done in just five days .
“ Growing it offsite means we can ultimately cut down the time required between concerts and football to let the pitch recover , so that Wembley can continue to keep up with global demand to stage world-class events .”
It took more than three years of research and development to get to a stage where the meticulous Wembley team was happy that lay and play technology could meet their high standards .
“ The Wembley pitch is unique and has very certain requirements . It involves a specific blend of sun , water , nutrients and takes 14 weeks to get into perfect shape . Even the fertiliser plan is bespoke to our requirements ,” adds Karl .
“ It is like one big chemistry experiment . We had to test every stage of the process including the grow time , any potential damage during transport and how it reacts
96 GroundskeepingJournal . co . uk | September / October 2023