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Accies Splash £750k On New Pitch

June 6, 2018/in Industry News, News, Press Release/by External Source

Accies Splash £750k On New Pitch: Hamilton have splashed out £750,000 to ensure their plastic pitch does not come out bottom of the pile again in the new season. The news comes 24 hours after the artificial turf at New Douglas Park was rated the worst surface among Scotland’s 42 senior clubs following a survey […]

Brechin Pitch Vandalism Anger

June 5, 2018/in Industry News, News, Press Release/by External Source

Brechin Pitch Vandalism Anger: Vandals have targeted an all-weather football pitch in Brechin, ruining the good work of local volunteers. The fence around the the synthetic pitch and enclosure at the town’s Inch Park was cut open and a set of goalposts were torn down. The attack comes after the Inch Maintenance and Preservation Society (Imps) took over […]

Accies Splash £750k On New Pitch

June 6, 2018/in Industry News, News, Press Release/by External Source

Brechin Pitch Vandalism Anger

June 5, 2018/in Industry News, News, Press Release/by External Source

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Accies Splash £750k On New Pitch

June 6, 2018/in Industry News, News, Press Release/by External Source

Accies Splash £750k On New Pitch: Hamilton have splashed out £750,000 to ensure their plastic pitch does not come out bottom of the pile again in the new season.

The news comes 24 hours after the artificial turf at New Douglas Park was rated the worst surface among Scotland’s 42 senior clubs following a survey of players.

A study organised jointly by PFA Scotland, Sports Labs and the Scottish Football Association found top-flight professionals gave the 3G turf an average score of just 1.18 out of five – worse even than the rutted patch found at League Two minnows Albion Rovers’ Cliftonhill home.

That led PFA Scotland chief Fraser Wishart to renew calls for such pitches to be banned in the Ladbrokes Premiership.

But Accies say they are investing in a new Greenfields MX pitch to ensure they do not find themselves embroiled in another turf controversy.

The club stated on their website: “The hard work continues at New Douglas Park over the summer with the installation of a new FIFA-approved, state-of-the-art, 3G pitch in preparation for our 5th consecutive season in the top flight of Scottish Football.

“The club have made a significant investment of £750,000 on the pitch project, signalling a continued commitment to both our first team and well renowned youth academy in ensuring they are afforded the very best playing surface available.

“The 2018-19 season will see the New Douglas Park surface tailored to the same specifications as the Scottish FA’s 3G pitch at the Oriam, Scotland’s National Performance Centre – a facility the governing body itself describes as ‘world class’.

“The project is being completed in partnership with a number of the leading companies within the sports grounds industry to ensure the pitch is installed to the highest standards.”

Accies head groundsman William Watson added: “We have left no stone unturned in our drive to bring the best playing surface available to Hamilton Accies. Over the past 18 months we have gone through a thorough process of data collection and club visits.

“Greenfields MX is widely used in elite sport across Europe. It is used in Holland by various top tier clubs including Vitesse, by English Premier League side Arsenal at their state-of-the-art London Colney training centre and, in Scotland, by Alloa Athletic.”

Alloa’s Recreation Park was rated 10th overall of the 42 clubs in the SPFL.

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Brechin Pitch Vandalism Anger

June 5, 2018/in Industry News, News, Press Release/by External Source

Brechin Pitch Vandalism Anger: Vandals have targeted an all-weather football pitch in Brechin, ruining the good work of local volunteers.

The fence around the the synthetic pitch and enclosure at the town’s Inch Park was cut open and a set of goalposts were torn down.

The attack comes after the Inch Maintenance and Preservation Society (Imps) took over caring for the site in September and raised £5,000 to bring it back up to standard.

The vandalism that happened in Brechin.Members of the community and local businesses got involved in the campaign and helped get the football ground back in shape with the help of Angus Council.

It is one of a series of environmental projects across the town which the group has taken on.

Imps chairman George Garden said members were disheartened and frustrated by the weekend attack.

“There was a lot of community backing and we are disappointed that the park has been the subject of vandalism,” he said.

“It’s extremely disheartening because there was a lot of hard work undertaken and it really knocks you back – it’s incredibly frustrating.”

The pitch is rented out to local clubs most week nights and opens for community use at the weekends.

Mr Garden said the public had access from Saturday morning until Monday morning so there was no need for anyone to cut the fence to get inside.

The charity has also recently taken over ownership of the public toilets at Inch Park and has been working on bringing them up to scratch so they can be re-opened.

However, Mr Garden said the vandalism at the synthetic pitch had left him questioning whether it was worth going ahead with the plan in case the toilets are targeted too.

The Imps group was created following a successful effort to bring Brechin’s paddling pool back into use after it was set to close due to high maintenance costs.

North Angus and Mearns SNP MSP Mairi Gougeon said the damage at the astro pitch was extremely disappointing.

“Imps are a hugely active community group who have done a tremendous amount of work in the past few years to fundraise and carry out improvements to facilities in and around the Inch Park area in Brechin,” she said.

“They also took on the toilets and paddling pool and I know they have ambitions to do even more for Brechin so I desperately hope they don’t become disheartened by this appalling incident.

“Vandalism is a mindless and selfish act and it’s appalling to see an act like this happen when so much work has been done by the community to keep these facilities going.”

Police are appealing for information on the incident. Anyone with information is urged to call 101 or speak to any officer.

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Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

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Accies Splash £750k On New Pitch

Brechin Pitch Vandalism Anger

Accies Splash £750k On New Pitch

Brechin Pitch Vandalism Anger

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Accies Splash £750k On New Pitch

Brechin Pitch Vandalism Anger

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