COVENTRY'S ARENA OF EXCITEMENT
When a soccer team have played at the same home ground for 106 years, they
could be forgiven for feeling somewhat sentimental about it when the time
came to modernise and relocate. But while proud of its history, Coventry
City FC are enthusiastically looking forward to the start of the 2005/06
season when they will begin playing at their new Ricoh Arena stadium.
Not only will the Arena provide enhanced facilities and greater revenue opportunities,
but it will also feature a state-of-the-art pitch. Designed and built by
the specialist sports construction company, SIS (Support in Sport) Ltd, the
surface will be resilient enough to withstand rugby and non-sporting events
like rock concerts, as well as top-flight soccer.
Some vital statistics convey the scale of the enterprise. Located approximately
three miles from the Sky Blues' former Highfield Road ground and occupying
the site of huge disused gasworks, the £60m Arena has 32,000 seats.
Attached to the main stadium is an 8,000m2 hall that can host indoor sports
tournaments and exhibitions, with seats for 8,000 spectators.
Some 46 executive boxes will be incorporated, cleverly designed to be able
to be converted quickly to overnight accommodation when required, and underneath
the exhibition hall will be a 90,000ft2 casino.
Just as impressive, however, and vital to the success of the Arena, is the
exciting technology that has gone into the Arena's playing surface. SIS has
installed a special XtraGrass reinforced turf system, which is robust enough
to tolerate soccer, rugby and non-sporting events.
XtraGrass
comprises natural grass that grows through a specially woven
synthetic turf fabric that is biodegradable. Having an uncanny
lifelike appearance, the fibres help to bind the rootzone material
and gives great durability. The maintenance necessary for such
a pitch is similar to a natural turf pitch, but an XtraGrass
surface delivers more games than a natural grass football pitch.
The biodegradable backing material creates a grid of large, uniform voids
through which plant roots can grow and nutrients and water can percolate
through. This open structure enables all conventional maintenance to be carried
out with the usual machinery, such as deep aeration with equipment such as
Verti-Drains.
SIS are the official UK distributors and installers of XtraGrass, which was
developed by the Dutch organisation, Greenfields. The system is designed
to overcome the problem of surface hardness that can be associated with other
reinforced pitches, and which some professional players believe can increase
the risk of injuries.
SIS started work on the Arena pitch project in February 2005, and the installation
time to the XtraGrass carpet being laid was completed in less than ten weeks. "We
were able to achieve top quality results very quickly, using state-of-the-art
equipment and techniques," says Rob de Heer, Operational Director with
SIS. "Our experience counts for a lot as we have undertaken similar
installations many times in the past."
The initial work included the installation of a double layer of geo-textile
material and a sand 'basement' comprising 4000 tonnes of carefully selected
Mansfield sand. 1500 tonnes of rootzone material was imported to the site,
into which were eventually installed 2500m of land drainage pipes and some
32000m of undersoil heating pipes.
SIS were able to complete this work on schedule, despite adverse weather
conditions throughout much of February and March.
Water heated by gas is used in the undersoil heating system, and an automatic
irrigation system with 12 pop-up sprinklers has also been installed.
The pitch was covered with 8000m2 of XtraGrass turf in 4.5m wide rolls. The
sward comprises 94% natural grass and 6% synthetic fibres. The XtraGrass
system is designed so that it can be grown and harvested using conventional
nursery methods and equipment. Pre-germinated seed was used to grow the turf
for the Arena project, with a 14-week maintenance period. Once in place,
700 tonnes of rootzone infill was applied carefully over the surface.
XtraGrass has been trialled successfully for the past 18 months at STRI,
in over 30 test plots at its world-famous headquarters in Bingley, West Yorkshire.
These trials will be fully completed in 12 months' time, but the initial
results are already available. XtraGrass is already fully approved by ISA
Sport, the appropriate body in The Netherlands.
The STRI has overseen the construction programme and has checked each stage
of the installation to ensure quality and consistency. Coventry City's grounds
staff have also been involved so that are thoroughly familiar with the XtraGrass
surface and its maintenance.
"We have managed other projects in this way for many years to make sure
that our clients get exactly what they need. It works to everyone's benefit," says
Rob de Heer.
This view is echoed by SIS Chief Executive George Mullan. "We are obviously
delighted to be playing such a major role in this exciting project. It proves
the point that, in order to ensure success, a development has to consider
what will actually be required of the finished surface. This has to take
account of the sports and activities that will have to be accommodated, and
the anticipated level of wear to which the grass will be subjected. The ideal
solution can then be selected from several possible options. In Coventry's
Ricoh Arena's case, the best choice is XtraGrass, which gives the Sky Blues
a truly resilient surface with the appearance and feel of the best natural
turf."
SIS are able to install pitches of all kinds, and so they can offer impartial
guidance as to what will best suit a particular club or facility, at any
level of sport. Beside the UK, the company has designed and installed sports
surfaces in France, Germany, Belgium, Italy and The Netherlands.
Amongst other recent developments, SIS has undertaken scientific research
to determine ideal turf production conditions, and will encourage clubs to
be involved at every stage from seed selection to pre-harvest maintenance,
so that their exact requirements can be met.
The company commissioned Cranfield University to identify the best area in
the UK for growing turf according to the length of the growing season and
the prevailing climate. Suffolk emerged as the ideal location, and so SIS
have teamed up with Sovereign Turf of Woodbridge, who will grow the 'signature'
turf at their 1,000 acres of nursery sites, under conditions tailored to
clients' exact requirements.
George Mullan says, "This scientific approach will ensure that clubs
get what they need for the perfect pitch. Because every sports ground is
different in terms of climate, soil types, usage and so on, we can offer
turf individualised to each client. Imported rootzones will be used and the
optimum seed mixture will be discussed with each club or its consultants.
"Clubs can specify the feeding regime for the grass, and the turf will
be marked out and maintained by professionally trained grounds staff using
exactly the same equipment as used on a typical stadium pitch. When the sward
is harvested and laid in place, it will be instantly at home and tailor-made
for its environment," says George Mullan.
The SIS/Sovereign initiative offers maximum production flexibility. The nurseries
are able to grow conventional turf, Fibresand turf with a reinforced rootzone,
and XtraGrass.
Meanwhile, Coventry City are looking ahead to the start of the next season,
when all eyes will be on the SIS surface as the players literally enter the
Arena.
