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Wembley brings in new pitch

August 8, 2023/in News, Press Release/by Rosie Tuck

Wembley brings in new pitch: Wembley Stadium, connected by EE, will have a new state-of-the-art pitch in place for this week’s FA Community Shield between Manchester City FC and Arsenal FC. The FA Community Shield is the traditional curtain-raiser to a new football season. Last year’s contest was moved to the King Power Stadium in […]

INFINICUT® bolster sales force

August 7, 2023/in News, Press Release/by Louise Challiss

INFINICUT® bolster sales force: To support their continued growth, INFINICUT® are pleased to announce the appointment of two new Territory Sales Managers in the form of Mark Clifford- Kennedy and Gareth Rogers. Joining in the midst of a busy summer for the company, the expansion of the sales team enables further expert knowledge and support […]

Wembley brings in new pitch

August 8, 2023/in News, Press Release/by Rosie Tuck

INFINICUT® bolster sales force

August 7, 2023/in News, Press Release/by Louise Challiss

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Wembley brings in new pitch

August 8, 2023/in News, Press Release/by Rosie Tuck

Wembley brings in new pitch: Wembley Stadium, connected by EE, will have a new state-of-the-art pitch in place for this week’s FA Community Shield between Manchester City FC and Arsenal FC.

The FA Community Shield is the traditional curtain-raiser to a new football season. Last year’s contest was moved to the King Power Stadium in Leicester while Wembley Stadium hosted the UEFA Women’s Euro ‘22 Final.

Wembley brings in new pitch

The fixture returns to its usual home this week, with the Wembley grounds-team adding the final touches to a playing surface, which over the summer played host to sell-out concerts attended by over half a million people.

The fact Wembley Stadium is ready to host such a prestigious football match, so soon after concert season, is down to the latest advancement in pitch technology. The hybrid carpet ‘Lay and Play’ grass pitch was grown off site, on a turf farm hundreds of miles away from the stadium. Link to timelapse video here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1HEHX2zIwjzPx_wLp7qjQ6YzdbSNhD1HS?usp=sharing

Once it was ready, more than 720 rolls of the hallowed turf were put on a number of lorries and transported to the stadium, before it was laid out last week. At 10 metres long by 1.2 metres (which if end to end would be 7km in length), the whole install took 60 hours to complete.

Wembley Stadium’s Grounds Manager Karl Standley said: “Lay and Play is a game-changer for a multi-purpose venue like Wembley Stadium. Previously, it might have taken up to five weeks after a concert to get a pitch ready for a football fixture. Now this can be done in just five days.

“Growing it offsite means we can ultimately cut down the time required between concerts and football to let the pitch recover, so that Wembley can continue to keep up with global demand to stage world-class events.”

It took more than three years of research and development to get to a stage where the meticulous Wembley team was happy that lay and play technology could meet their high standards.

“The Wembley pitch is unique and has very certain requirements. It involves a specific blend of sun, water, nutrients and takes 14 weeks to get into perfect shape. Even the fertiliser plan is bespoke to our requirements,” adds Karl.

“It is like one big chemistry experiment. We had to test every stage of the process including the grow time, any potential damage during transport and how it reacts when it comes into the stadium. It is a very precise procedure, and we monitor every stage closely.

“The pitch for this week’s FA Community Shield fixture came into the stadium on July 25 and has settled in nicely. After that it will be used for the Rugby League Challenge Final before concerts and events including AEW Elite Wrestling at the stadium.

“The next step is to make the whole process sustainable with the old pitch going back into grassroots football.

“At present the old pitch goes off to a production site where the grass, sand and plastic is separated. The grass decomposes naturally, and the sand is sent back to us so it can be re-used or sent out for use on grassroot pitches.

“We are close to now finding a use for the plastic, whereby it can be melted down and used to produce equipment for sports teams. Eventually the whole process will be 100% sustainable.”

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INFINICUT® bolster sales force

August 7, 2023/in News, Press Release/by Louise Challiss

INFINICUT^® bolster sales force: To support their continued growth, INFINICUT^® are pleased to announce the appointment of two new Territory Sales Managers in the form of Mark Clifford- Kennedy and Gareth Rogers.

Joining in the midst of a busy summer for the company, the expansion of the sales team enables further expert knowledge and support to be delivered to customers across both the Southern and Northern counties.

INFINICUT® bolster sales force

Mark Clifford-Kennedy becomes the new Territory Sales Manager for the south, making the transition to INFINICUT^® following a successful career in the manufacturing, construction, and engineering sectors. His proven track record in sales and the delivery of outstanding technical support puts Mark in good stead for his new role, for which INFINICUT^®will be supporting Mark through elements of a Level 2 Sports Turf Maintenance qualification at the Leicester City Sports Turf Academy.

Covering the northern counties, Scotland and Northern Ireland will be Gareth Rogers. Gareth’s career in turf began in 1989, working for Sennelager British Army Golf before progressing through the ranks to senior and Head Greenkeeper positions at various clubs in the two decades that followed. This foundation of knowledge and qualifications set Gareth up for key roles in sales – including Area Sales Manager for Fairways GM Ltd and, more recently, Reesink Turfcare UK.

Commenting on their appointments, INFINCUT^®Managing Director John Coleman said “Having Mark and Gareth join us at such an exciting point in the INFINICUT^® story is brilliant for the brand and bolsters what we can offer customers old and new across both the north and south of the UK. With the successes we have achieved with our award-winning INFINICUT^® in the football market and new innovations such as the 22” cutting unit, we are well placed with the pair on board to continue our drive both here at home and across Europe.”

In their spare time, both Mark and Gareth are big sports fans – Mark playing football and completing half marathons, and Gareth a big rugby fan and keen golfer.

Mark can be contacted on 07385013157 or mark.clifford-kennedy@sbdinc.com, and Gareth on 07385013159 or gareth.rogers@sbdinc.com.

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

Wembley brings in new pitch

INFINICUT® bolster sales force

Wembley brings in new pitch

INFINICUT® bolster sales force

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Wembley brings in new pitch

Wembley brings in new pitch: Wembley Stadium, connected by EE, will have a new state-of-the-art pitch in place for this week’s FA Community Shield between Manchester City FC and Arsenal FC.

INFINICUT® bolster sales force

INFINICUT^® bolster sales force: To support their continued growth, INFINICUT^® are pleased to announce the appointment of two new Territory Sales Managers in the form of Mark Clifford- Kennedy and Gareth Rogers.

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