Tag Archive for: Football

Toro entrusted by Bournemouth for new centre

Toro entrusted by Bournemouth for new centre

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Toro entrusted by Bournemouth for new centre

As the first team moves into AFC Bournemouth’s new training complex at Canford Magna, a new fleet of Toro machinery arrives to look after the first four pitches to be built.

Toro entrusted by Bournemouth for new centre

Toro entrusted by Bournemouth for new centre

The machinery choices by Head of Grounds Ian Lucas are strategically made on how to cut more efficiently according to European regulations and meet the Premier League standards in place for all pitches.

Ian explains, “The products we chose come with adjustments to match the width of cut to the pitches exactly. The Toro Reelmaster 3100 with SideWinder, which is usually a mower favoured by golf clubs for cutting around bunkers and obstacles, allows us to mow as efficiently as possible with no overlap.”

It’s a machine also favoured by other premier football clubs, says Ian: “I visited other training centres and saw how other clubs had fitted a wider arm kit on the SideWinder but without the wider front units meaning they could cut 30 inches across instead of 26. That meant they the cutting width worked better with the required striping pattern within the dimensions of the pitch.”

The patented SideWinder technology brings more benefits than that to the football pitch though as Ian continues: “Being able to use the SideWinder cutting unit from left to right brings a more even weight distribution eliminating wear marks.”

Also ably assisting Ian and his team of 11 looking after the 57-acre training grounds are Toro’s Workman HDX utility vehicles with cabs for improved operator comfort and a Toro Reelmaster 3550 for its light footprint and turf-friendly tyres.

Ian says: “The Workmans have a big cargo bed which is perfect for the development stage of the project we’re in – it can easily cope with the amount of grass we need to move and the attachments we load it up with like the tipper trailer.”

This will be followed up with another machinery order in the new year as the next four pitches for the £36 million Performance Centre open. Ian comments: “We’re ready for that. I’ve already chosen the Toro machines I want and submitted the lists. I’ve been using Toro for around 15 years, so I know how good it is, especially with the back-up and support of Reesink, our local dealer D J Scott and our mobile mechanic Lee Read.”

He concludes: “When it comes to the turfcare machinery entrusted to look after this huge investment in sport, it had to be Toro.”

Mark Winder, Area Sales for Reesink, says: “Just as AFC Bournemouth’s ambition and commitment to excellence is shown with its new state of the art training complex, Reesink’s focus is on working with Ian and the team to ensure they have the turfcare equipment they need to maintain all the pitches to the highest of standards.”

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Somerset FA agrees partnership to improve county’s football facilities

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Somerset FA agrees partnership to improve county’s football facilities: Somerset FA has agreed a new partnership which will see Masons Kings become the organisation’s new trusted machinery partner.

Masons Kings is one of the south west’s leading suppliers of groundscare equipment and is renowned for its extensive experience and knowledge of professional turf maintenance.

Somerset FA agrees partnership to improve county’s football facilities

Somerset FA agrees partnership to improve county’s football facilities

The partnership will see the company support improvements to football facilities across the county. Alongside clubs being able to select the right equipment for their pitches, all machines will be security-protected by tagging, or by fitting Thatcham-approved devices.

Clubs will also benefit from site surveys and recommendations, as well as workshops and demonstrations from Masons Kings. Support will be provided for grant applications and aftercare services to get the most out of their machinery.

Dan Eustice, Marketing and Commercial Lead at Somerset FA, said: “We are excited about our new partnership with Masons Kings and are confident that it will deliver real value to clubs, ensuring their grounds are well-maintained, their investment protected, and their teams fully supported. Masons Kings is already working with several clubs, including Taunton Town.”

Jon Funnell, Area Sales Consultant for Masons Kings, said: “We are delighted to be part of this flourishing partnership. We are both committed to providing high-quality, safe, and sustainable playing surfaces across the county. We are excited for the future of this partnership and to work with more clubs across Somerset.”

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Flood relief at Caersws Football Club

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Flood relief at Caersws Football Club: Caersws Football Club, founded in the late 19th century, adopted its present name in 1974 when it relinquished its amateur status. The club’s first successes came in the nineteen sixties, winning the Mid-Wales League and the Welsh Amateur Cup.

In 1992 they became founder members of the League of Wales and subsequently won the League Cup twice. The team plays at the Recreation Ground, Caersws, which accommodates up to 4000 spectators.

Flood relief at Caersws Football Club

Flood relief at Caersws Football Club

Situated close to the River Severn, the ground floods regularly when the river bursts its banks in winter months. But once the flood water subsided, the pitch would not be playable for up to 2 weeks due standing water on the pitch not draining away. This resulted in the club having to move matches to another club’s ground, which had a 3G pitch, to meet the demands of the league schedule. In the 2023/24 season, they managed only one game across three winter months (Nov-Jan). Playing elsewhere also meant supporters would not travel to games, so the issues mounted. Investigations into the causes revealed the pitch to be sitting on 0.7 metres depth of clay and constant rolling over the years had compacted the surface even further. Normal aeration would have no impact on the problem.

Caersws Club chair, Neil Lewis, had heard of the work by Terrain Aeration at other pitches and called them in to see if they could resolve the issue. Terrain has a unique system used for over thirty years with their Terralift machines. The Terralift features a JCB road hammer and probe, which reaches a depth of one metre where it releases a blast of compressed air. This fractures the soil, creating fissures to allow drainage, and as the probe is withdrawn, dried seaweed is injected. This has the effect of expanding and contracting with moisture and, in simple terms, keeps the holes open. The process is repeated on a grid system, usually at two-metre intervals, to interlink the fracturing. The probe holes are backfilled with an aggregate and the surface is almost immediately playable.

“This season we had only one first team and a second team game postponed,” says Neil Lewis. “We had the Ground Management Association come and take a core sample. They found even though the topsoil was wet, the soil at depth was dry. We have also had the pitch scarified to remove thatch, so next season will see it drain even better. The difference since Terrain Aeration did their work is incredible and we will promote them to other club and associations looking for a drainage solution. It saved money, there was no digging and being non-invasive, we were able to play a pre-season friendly the same night as the work was done. Why would you not do it?”

Terrain Aeration 01449 673783 www.terrainaeration.co.uk

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Kubota or nothing for Watford Football Club

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Kubota or nothing for Watford Football Club: When it comes to tractors, it’s Kubota or nothing for Scott Tingley, Grounds Manager at Watford Football Club.

The club’s Kubota STW40 is proof that compact doesn’t have to mean compromise when it comes to providing the reliable power for maintenance operations at Vicarage Road, while a Kubota L2-622 delivers impressive versatility at the training ground.

Kubota or nothing for Watford Football Club

Kubota or nothing for Watford Football Club

Performance

The dependable performance of the pair is matched by a fleet of four Kubota RTV’s used across both sites.

Scott is into his 9th season at the club and oversees the home of The Hornets with a team of three, and the 27 pitches at Watford’s training ground. “On the Vicarage Road stadium pitch, it’s all about weight – we need something small and compact, with enough horsepower to lift all the various implements we use” he explains. The solution, for the last seven years, has been a Kubota STW40.

“We look after the tractor well and, in return, it looks after us. It’s small, lightweight and at 40hp can operate our seeder or aerator for example without leaving much of a footprint.” Scott continues, “All of our Kubota equipment is incredibly reliable, we’ve had no issues with this tractor at all.”

At the training ground, the delivery of an L2-622 from dealers George Browns Ltd in October 2022 is delivering even more versatility “We’re yet to find anything we can’t do with this tractor! Together with powering implements, the forks and bucket are invaluable for moving pallets around, managing deliveries or loading topdressing into our spreader. It makes every task quicker and easier.”

“The cruise control feature on the Kubota L2-622 is especially important when we’re aerating at the training ground as, by setting the speed, we get consistency across all the surfaces” he adds. “It’s also incredibly user-friendly to operate which is important to aid the training and efficiency of some of our newer and younger team members.”

RTV’s

Complementing the pair of compact tractors across the two sites are four RTV’s, including two RTV520’s installed by George Browns at the training ground in July 2023. “Here, especially, the RTV’s are the workhorses of our maintenance operation.

Whether its moving equipment from pitch to pitch or transporting clippings, they’re our go-to. At the stadium we have a Kubota RTV500 which, again, is a people and machinery mover. We also use this to tow our lighting rigs into place after a match which shaves an hour off the job.”

Scott concludes by praising the after-sales support from the Kubota dealer, “On the odd occasion we’ve needed help with our Kubota equipment, George Browns have always been brilliant. With high levels of usage and even higher expectations it’s reassuring to know we can always rely on Kubota to get the job done.”

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Vandals destroy football pitches

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Vandals destroy football pitches: Two Northside football clubs say they’ve been left devastated after their pitches were vandalised last weekend.

Read the full article from the FM104 here

Groundsman to play on his 'sacred' pitch

Groundsman to play on his ‘sacred’ pitch

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