PITCH MANAGEMENT
SEED AIDS RECOVERY AT
SCOTTISH NATIONAL STADIUM
In 1903 the committee of amateur football club Queens
Park clubbed together to purchase 33 acres of land on the
South side of Glasgow upon which to build a football
ground.
T
hey went on to construct Park still play their League matches at
one of the World's most the ground which also hosts the
advanced stadiums, Scottish and League Cup Finals and
Hampden Park. More than a the National team's home games.
Century later and after several American Football was played at the
phases of redevelopment to update ground too until recently.
and upgrade its facilities, Scotland's The stadium's ampitheatre design
national stadium is still just as and 52,000 capacity make it ideal for
impressive. music concerts and it has played host
These days however, sports stadia to the likes of Robbie Williams, U2
have become multi-use venues and and the Rolling Stones in recent years, scarifying, hollow-coring and sand- opportunity to speak to someone with
Hampden Park is no exception. adding new challenges to the slitting - as much as we could complete extensive knowledge about seed. The
Despite their Amateur status, Queens preparation and maintenance of the in the time-frame.” cultivars in A20 have the characteristics
playing surface for Head Groundsman “I overseed monthly over the course we need - quick germination, fast
Stephen Bache and his groundstaff. of the season which helps me to recovery and good winter colour. Once
“The biggest challenge for us is the maintain good grass coverage despite the seed was down, we were extremely
very narrow windows where we can the intense match schedule. Last year I pleased with germination and take-up
carry out renovations”, Stephen began to use A20 Ryesport seed mixture and I've noticed the difference in the
explained. “This year we had a full from British Seed Houses. Our recovery of the surface after the stress
three weeks, but that's the most we've Technical Advisor, Alistair Eccles of matches and being covered for
ever had. We carried out some visited the stadium and I appreciated the concerts.”
“This summer we hosted Neil
Diamond on 5th June followed by Bon
Jovi on 21st so the pitch was covered
for a full 16 days. The staging was
situated in the centre of the pitch for
the first concert and then moved to the
East goal area for the second. We find
that the pitch fares pretty well under
the Terraplast, it's the area under the
staging that suffers the most. We apply
a fungicide and lower the height of cut
right down, but after more than two
weeks of being covered, the grass is
yellow and weak when it's lifted and
needs time to recover.”
“With A20, I've noticed that the
surface recovers quicker than on
previous occasions and fast recovery is
critical for a pitch which is so heavily
used.”
A20 Ryesport is a blend of the four
perennial ryegrasses Gallius, Lucius,
Cadix and Vesuvius for all-round
performance. It's used extensively on
winter games pitches across the UK
from parks to Premiership.
FSA
www.bshamenity.com
48 | FOOTBALL & SPORTS ARENA | September/October 2008
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