SIS KEEPS DARTS SHARP
A thorough maintenance programme devised by SIS (Support in Sport) Ltd is ensuring that the state-of-the-art pitch the company built recently for Dartford FC stays in peak condition despite intensive usage.
After 14 years without a permanent home of their own, Ryman Football League Southern Division side Dartford (The Darts) played their first game at the new Princes Road Stadium last November. The £7m facility is owned and run by Dartford Borough Council and the pitch itself was built in just six weeks, including drainage and irrigation installation work.
Pictured Left: Dartford FC (click to enlarge)
Pitch maintenance is the ultimate responsibility of SIS Site Manager Simon Mroczek, who oversees new natural and synthetic facilities built by the company at home and abroad. “On natural grass pitches our standard aftercare schedule includes cutting the grass and other related tasks at least four times following installation, although this can be adapted to suit individual client requirements,” he says. “At the Princes Road Stadium, other building work had to be completed before the official handover could take place, and the Council requested that we extend our maintenance programme. They were so delighted with the results that SIS has now been contracted to continue overseeing the turf care regime in the future.”
The contract has included the appointment of Andrew Birch as full-time, on-site groundsman. Previously with Brentford FC, he undertakes all maintenance tasks, from grass cutting and top-dressing, to disease control and Verti-Draining, and he has a remit to keep the playing surface in peak condition despite it having to typically withstand three matches per week.
Simon Mroczek visits the Club every week and advises on machinery hire and purchase. The equipment fleet already includes essentials such as a tractor and a mower, with other items being added as required. Further specialist equipment that is only required infrequently, such as Verti-Drains and top-dressers, are hired from Ipswich Town FC by agreement.
The new pitch will eventually host rugby matches alongside the current football programme, and so it was decided to install an XtraGrass surface for maximum durability. SIS is the official distributor and installer of the system, which comprises natural grass growing through a woven synthetic turf fabric, with the benefit of being biodegradable with an extremely lifelike appearance. Its fibres help to bind the rootzone material and enhance resilience, to the extent that it can typically withstand 800 hours of play in a year. At the new Princes Road stadium, the pitch was sown with a 100% ryegrass seed blend comprising of eight different varieties for optimum performance.
The backing material has an open, porous structure that enables all conventional maintenance machinery to be used, including deep aeration equipment. The system also overcomes the surface hardness often associated with 100% synthetic grass carpets.
In addition to the Princes Road stadium, SIS also maintains the Dartford Community pitch, a full-size synthetic facility that is available to both the local community and for training by The Darts. Both pitches are located on the same site, as is the Princes Park pitch and putt course, which, following negotiation, will shortly benefit from resurfaced greens installed by SIS.
