C in the facilities at AFC Bournemouth has
SPORTS PITCHES
Kubota LX401 pairing pull their weight at AFC Bournemouth!
ontinued investment
C in the facilities at AFC Bournemouth has
seen the purchase of two new LX401 compact tractors from Kubota. With a Kubota ST401 already based at the club’ s Vitality Stadium, the two new additions will be shared between the existing training ground and brand-new state-of-theart training complex- where they’ ll be key to executing the year-round maintenance on the four sand-based, desso pitch constructions.
The investment off the pitch appears to be paying dividends on it with the club, nicknamed‘ The Cherries’, at the end of one of the most successful seasons in Bournemouth’ s history. In charge of facilities is Head of Grounds Ian Lucas who is, currently, maintaining four sites assisted by a team of 11. In equipping the new 24-hectare training ground with its own machinery fleet, Ian explored all the options when it came to compact tractors – with Kubota proving more‘ compact’ than others …
“ No groundsman wants to be putting more weight on their pitches than they need to – it’ s critical to find the balance of retaining a low footprint but having enough lift capacity for all the implements we use” Ian explains.“ We compared a number of options in the mid-compact arena and found that not only was the Kubota specification better, it had a slightly higher lift capacity and was half a tonne lighter. When the competition indicated it was down to build quality, I told them I’ d never had
42 GroundskeepingJournal. co. uk | May / June 2025