New Pitch Investment Pays Off
New Pitch Investment Pays Off: For years the quality of the Memorial Stadium pitch was criticised by managers both home and away as it cut up badly.
Former Gas manager Darrell Clarke used to lambaste it at regular intervals.
Which makes today’s announcement that Bristol Rovers have been named Grounds Team of the Season in League One all the more significant.
At this point last season the club had already ripped up the turf at the Memorial Stadium to correct a problem with the incorrect sand laid under the grass and lay a new fibre pitch.
What the fibre does is reinforce the turf meaning it does not come up in clumps.
Clarke, who departed as manager at the Gas in December, revealed over the summer that groundsman Daryle Sullivan had even slept at the stadium during the summer to ensure the pitch developed perfectly.
Anyone who has visited to Mem this season will no doubt have noticed the vast improvement to the playing surface.
The awards recognise the importance of the quality of pitches for professional football and acknowledge the clubs and their ground staff who consistently produce the best playing surfaces in the EFL.
Bristol Rovers’ ground staff take top honours for the excellent surface at the Memorial Stadium in League One with Doncaster Rovers, Sunderland and Wycombe Wanderers highly commended.
In the Championship, Swansea City won the award for producing a perfect pitch at the Liberty Stadium this season. Aston Villa and Middlesbrough are both highly commended.
The award for Grounds Team of the Season in League Two this year goes to Swindon Town, while the ground staff of Carlisle United and MK Dons are highly commended.
The EFL’s Grounds Team of the Season Awards are determined initially using marks from referees and away managers for each Sky Bet EFL game and are then followed by detailed pitch inspections and a review of management operations.
These visits were carried out by Dr Stephen Baker, Head of Sports Surface Technology at the Sports Turf Research Institute (STRI).
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