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SIS Pitches Ready In Russia

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SIS Pitches Ready In Russia: Three new football stadiums in Russia – the Samara Arena, Kaliningrad Stadium and Saransk Stadium – are now set for their World Cup kick-offs, having gone through the installation of new high-tech hybrid pitches.

Global pitch specialists, SIS Pitches, the company behind six of the 12 World Cup pitches, was commissioned to design, construct and install the new surfaces at the football venues – which are set to host international football teams including England, Portugal and Belgium during this year’s tournament.

SIS Pitches Ready In Russia

This year’s international football event will be the most technologically advanced in history, with SIS Pitches leading the way with the industry’s most advanced playing surfaces. Its sophisticated reinforced natural turf system, SISGrass, combines 95% natural grass with 5% synthetic turf; installed with patented injection technology and laser guidance for accuracy; offering longer playing hours and faster recovery time after each game.

SIS Pitches has now formally handed over the pitches to each stadium’s management team, who will handle their maintenance from now on, following thorough inspections by independent agency the Sports Turf Research Institute.

George Mullan, CEO & Founder of SIS Pitches, said: “Anticipation and excitement for this year’s World Cup is growing as we get ever closer to the start of the tournament. Our team has been working hard over the last few months to ensure the surfaces we have been commissioned to work on are top class, and in the very best condition.

“Six of the World Cup stadiums, including Samara Arena, Kaliningrad Stadium and Saransk Staidum, now feature the most innovative and advanced sporting turfs in the industry, which will provide strong, durable and well-performing pitches across the whole tournament. It’s over to the stadium teams now to maintain that standard and quality until the final whistle.

“As football fans around the world count down to the start of the tournament, the pitch handovers are another step closer to the action, and we can’t wait for the matches to begin.”

The Samara Arena, formally known as the Cosmos Arena, has a capacity of 44,198 seats and is scheduled to host four first round group matches. This includes one round of 16 matches, and one quarter-final during the World Cup tournament, including Costa Rica v Serbia (Sunday 17 June), Denmark v Australia (Thursday 21 June), Uruguay v Russia (Monday 25 June), and Senegal v Columbia (Thursday 28 June). After the international tournament, it will become the new home ground of club Krylia Sovetov.

SIS Pitches Ready In Russia

The Kaliningrad Stadium, also known as the Arena Baltika, has a capacity of 35,212 and is the new home ground of Russian football club FC Baltika Kaliningrad. During the World Cup, it is scheduled to host four first round group matches: Croatia v Nigeria (Saturday 16 June); Serbia v Switzerland (Friday 22 June); Iran v Portugal (Monday 25 June); and, England v Belgium (Thursday 28 June).

Saransk Stadium, also known as the Mordovia Arena, will host 45,000 football fans for the World Cup and is set to hold tournament ties including: Peru v Denmark (Saturday 16 June); Colombia v Japan (Tuesday 19 June); Iran v Portugal (Monday 25 June); and, Panama v Tunisia (Thursday 28 June).

Dr. Andreevs, director of Kaliningrad Stadium administration, added: “SIS Pitches carried out the design and construction work of the football pitch at our stadium, and in April this year we successfully hosted our first football match. Before the match, the independent agency STRI conducted testing, which showed the high quality of the pitch. SIS Pitches are a highly qualified team of professionals that provide high quality services.”

The Samara Arena, Kaliningrad Stadium and Saransk Stadium are just three of 12 venues that will host the World Cup. Six of these have commissioned SIS Pitches expertise and feature SISGrass surfaces, including Luzhniki stadium, where the highly-anticipated World Cup Final will be played before a crowd of 80,000 and a worldwide TV audience of one billion. It will be the first time a World Cup Final has ever been played on anything but all-natural grass.

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Wolves Install New Pitches

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Wolves Install New Pitches: Two brand new state-of-the-art football pitches are being laid at Wolverhampton Wanderers’ training ground to help Nuno Espirito Santo improve his players’ passing game.

The head coach wants his side to train on the same surface that was laid at Molineux last year as he continues to stamp his tactical approach on the club ahead of their return to the Premier League.

And head groundsman Wayne Lumbard revealed the project should be completed by July, in time for when the players return from their summer break.

Asked if the project would help the players, Lumbard said: “Yes, exactly the surface for the type of players that we have got that play passing football and like a good surface, a good level surface.

“That obviously helps with their style of football and helps us rather than the away team.

“Nuno obviously wants the best playing surface that we can possibly get.

“The only way forward with that was to do what we did at Molineux because that has been so good, and what they have got at Molineux, they want down the training ground. So what they train on, they play on. So the only way was to invest in the new pitches, which will hopefully be as good as Molineux.”

The project was kick-started after talks were held with the club’s senior management and spearheaded by Nuno.

The plans were first mooted last year but work only begun several months ago so the pitches could be ready in time for summer.

Lumbard said: “We have been talking about it for the last six, seven months. Obviously it is not something you can decide overnight. There is a lot of planning that goes ahead.

“We started about four or five weeks ago purely so we could have pitch one back for when they come back in July.

“Everything was geared up really to have an early start so we could have one pitch back for them to train on as soon as they came back after the close season.”

The new training pitches will be state-of-the-art Desso GrassMaster surfaces.

They are the same ones which were laid at Molineux last summer as part of a six-figure investment.

Lumbard added: “They will be maintained and constructed exactly the same as Molineux.”

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Kubota Helps Transform Pitches

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Kubota Helps Transform Pitches: Kubota, the market leading manufacturer of high performance groundcare solutions, has assisted a team of dedicated volunteers to transform the sporting facilities in one of the country’s most deprived areas.

72-year-old Philip Swann and his team of six volunteers have given up their time to dedicate countless hours to make huge improvements to the state of the grounds for Handsworth Old Boys FC and Handsworth Old Boys Cricket Club in Birmingham.

Kubota Helps Transform Pitches

Philip has been a Handsworth Old Boy member for over 55 years, started volunteering at the ground following his retirement as a sales director for a hardware manufacturer.  He said: “When I volunteered to be groundsman, I had absolutely no experience, it was more because I had a passion for the club and wanted to help in anyway I could.  However, I soon realised the magnitude of the issues I faced, which even experienced groundsman might have seen as a challenge!

“The main issue at the site is access.  The grounds are enclosed by railway lines on all sides, with only one access point over the tracks that also has a very steep and dangerous incline.  This makes it almost impossible for any larger machines to be able to access the site safely.  To compound this, the driveway down to the facilities is only 7ft in width, which means the maximum size of a vehicle that can fit down the drive is a transit van.  For bulk deliveries, HGVs or 3.5t trucks have to park over 250m away at the entrance to the grounds, adding serious workload to an already demanding job!”

“What’s more, when I first started, everything was done on the seven-and-a-half-acre site by hand, the cricket square was in terrible condition and too many football matches were being cancelled because of water logged pitches as a slitter was needed.”

Philip knew that he needed the right machine to help him start tackling these issues.  Due to budget restrictions of this amateur club, it needed to offer excellent value for money, be versatile and durable, but also be easy to operate for the volunteers that would be using it with limited to no machinery experience.  The final requirement was to ensure all the retired volunteers could carry out their work comfortably.

Kubota’s STa-30 (which has more recently been superceded by the STW30 model) was the ideal choice, with the ability to handle a range of tasks with quick and powerful performance, a large hydraulic pump capacity to operate a wide range of attachments and excellent comfort for operators.

Philip continued: “The Kubota machine has been invaluable in helping us carry out a wide range of jobs with ease.  During the summer months, the grass is cut twice a week (which takes roughly four and a half hours to complete each time) and it also allows us to use other key attachments for aeration and scarifying.  The tractor also enables us to move and transport all sorts of materials around the site, as well as load up the trailer when we are tending to the 160 trees around the perimeter.

“So much of the work on the playing fields is carried out by the tractor, that in the event of it breaking down, all work on the grounds would come to a standstill.  But it never does, it’s an absolute workhorse, clocking thousands of hours and it’s still going strong, a real testament to the reliability and durability of Kubota machinery.”

The result of all this hard work, commitment, and hours and hours of volunteering time by Philip and his friends – success on the pitch for Handsworth Old Boys.  This season, three out of the five football teams are top of their respective divisions and the cricket team has been promoted in three of the last four seasons.  The grounds are also now a valuable asset for the local community, with many local football and cricket teams using the facilities, providing vital additional funding for Handsworth Old Boys.

Philip concluded: “My aim over the years has been to gradually improve the sports pitches.  I’ve taken advice from turf specialists and also had advice from the groundsman Ian Allmark at Handsworth Grammar School for Girls to help us achieve this.  Today, the satisfaction the volunteers get seeing a beautiful sports ground being maximised to its potential makes me extremely proud and is a validation of all the hard work and effort that has been put in over the years.”

Following its partnership with Kubota, Philip is now looking to invest further in his machinery, with Kubota’s experts recommending its new L1361 compact tractor as the best model to suit the demands of the sporting facility.

For more information on Kubota and its extensive range of solutions for the groundcare sector, or to find your local dealer, visit www.kubota.co.uk or call 01844 268000.

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SIS Pitches A Certified Manufacturer

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SIS Pitches A Certified Manufacturer: SIS Pitches first company in UK and Ireland to be individually recognised as a Certified Field Builder and Certified Manufacturer by International Hockey Federation.

  • SIS Pitches manufactures and builds hockey pitches across the UK and Ireland
  • Company first to be recognised in this manner in these countries
  • The world-class playing surfaces are manufactured in own factory in Maryport, Cumbria

SIS Pitches A Certified Manufacturer

A UK-based company specialising in sports pitches has become the first in Britain and Ireland to be double-certified individually by the International Hockey Federation (FIH).

SIS Pitches has been announced as a FIH Certified Manufacturer and FIH Certified Field Builder. This makes them the first company within Ireland and the British Isles to be double certified individually by the International Hockey Federation.

The double-certification from the FIH recognises SIS Pitches’ expertise in the control over the quality of hockey pitches in every aspect — from pitch design, manufacturing construction, installation and maintenance.

SIS Pitches, which is headquartered in Maryport, Cumbria, is a world-leader in synthetic and natural sports surfacing. It lays synthetic pitches across the globe, with some of its most prestigious hockey pitch projects located at The University of Manchester, Ben Rhydding Hockey Club, Harrow School and Alive LynnSport, which is the home of the Pelicans hockey team, based in Norfolk.

Away from hockey, SIS Pitches is proud to produce high-quality sports surfaces for football and rugby. The firm has constructed and installed SISGrass hybrid technology at 6 of the 12 pitches at the 2018 football World Cup in Russia, including the Luzhniki stadium, home of the opening and final matches of the tournament.

Alastair Cox, FIH Facilities and Quality Programme Manager, said:

“The consistently high standard of hockey turf manufacturing and the construction quality demonstrated in SIS Pitches’ field building earned them the right to be internationally endorsed by our Quality Programme for Hockey Turf. This is no easy feat. Additionally, their commitment to providing great hockey facilities that support our Hockey Revolution strategy – to make our sport a global game that inspires future generations, was an important factor in their application.”

Luke Edwards, Sports Systems Development Manager, SIS Group Ltd, said:

 “Having previously received FIH Certification for our factory, we’re thrilled to have joined the FIH Certified Builder Programme as this fits perfectly with our philosophy of manufacturing, constructing and installing only the highest quality hockey fields.”

For more information, visit: www.sispitches.com

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SIS Pitches Project In Manadon

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SIS Pitches Project In Manadon: SIS Pitches have announced a substantial new re-surfacing project taking place in Manadon, Plymouth.

The process commenced at the beginning of January and will see refurbishment of the existing sand based hockey surface, which will be replaced with SISTurf Soccer Pro60-meeting FIFA Quality Pro requirements. In addition, comprehensive fencing, floodlighting and surface extension works will be carried out, with the developments forming a new full size synthetic turf football pitch.

SIS Pitches Project In Manadon

A period of 8 calendar weeks was agreed in order for the completion of the project.

The project is the latest re-surfacing development carried out by SIS Pitches, following previous successes in the area at Ottery St Mary Leisure Centre and BH Live Littledown Leisure Centre.

The Manadon works represent part of a wider football, cricket and outdoor sports centre scheme led by the Argyle Community Trust and Plymouth City Council. The project is funded by the Premier League and The FA Facilities Fund, Sport England and the England and Wales Cricket Board, alongside contributions from the Council and the Trust. These works form one of a series of refurbishments to grassroots sports facilities, in order to improve the quality and experience of taking part in sport.

Simon Mroczek, UK Operations Director at SIS Pitches, feels the project represents a positive step for the city moving forwards: –

‘We are very pleased to be working on this project alongside the Argyle Community Trust and Plymouth City Council. The completed works will benefit not only the local community but also the city as a whole, providing a top-quality facility that the everyone can enjoy.’

SIS Pitches is a world-leader in the design, manufacture, construction, installation and maintenance of sports surfaces, and is a FIFA licensee, World Rugby preferred turf producer and certified FIH manufacturer.

SIS Pitches is a part of a framework agreement to provide the design, manufacture, installation and maintenance of artificial grass pitches. The agreement is in support of the Rugby Football Union (RFU), Football Association (FA), Sport England, England Hockey and Football Foundation (FF) capital investment programmes.

As part of ongoing innovation successes, SISGrass hybrid surface technology, developed by SIS Pitches, has been selected for 6 of the 12 2018 football World Cup pitches, including the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow-host of the opening and final matches of the tournament.

For more information, visit: www.sispitches.com

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