May 2024 At the cutting edge
Pitch preparations begin at new Everton Stadium Ground works have begun to prepare Everton Stadium for the construction of the playing surface.
sand over two years ago, to provide a solid surface for vehicles to work upon.
Contractors arrived on site this week to begin underground works on the surrounds ahead of a summer of complex work to prepare a top-class pitch for a world class stadium.
Ben Williams, Package Manager for Laing O’Rourke, who is overseeing the pitch development, explained: “It’s great now that SEL Environmental are on board and this is the initial phase of the works.
And the first job is to dig out the piling mat; a layer of recycled stone initially rolled out on top of the compacted
“They are going through and trimming the top layer of the piling mat and installing all of the pitchside ducting, which
gets everything ready for the maintenance and other services around the pitch, including all the cabling for the broadcasters, piping for the irrigation and undersoil heating and belowground drainage.” One the piling mat has been stripped back to the original sand layer created from sea-dredged sand, the layers needed for the pitch will be built up, beginning with impermeable membranes that provide a barrier for the
top-level works. On top of this, a hot air system will be installed to manage the undersoil heating, layered beneath a drainage system that also allows for water storage for irrigation.
return around July to install the root layers, all of the drainage and irrigation and build up the layers, and we’re hoping to start planting grass seed around August time.”
Atop that, heating pipes and a gravel layer will be installed, on which the lower and upper rootzone and grass will sit.
Once the seeding is complete in early October, specialised machinery will then stitch synthetic fibres into the roots of the grass to strengthen them and provide a robust Desso surface.
Williams added: “Once we dig down, we will be on the top of the sand layer and we want to try and keep that segregated from the rest of our system, so there are impermeable membranes to be put down, then the piping of the undersoil heating into the drainage system, making sure it is robust enough and avoiding damaging anything as we go along, because that can be costly to repair at a later stage. “At the minute, we are just concentrating on the initial stages of those ducting and utility installations. SEL will then
These fibres, covering around 5% of the playing surface, are designed to interlock with the growing grass to provide strength and longevity.
It includes funding to also help extend England and Wales Cricket Board’s primary and secondary schools programme to get over 900,000 young people into playing cricket over next five years, including 80,000 children with special educational needs.
The investment, to be delivered over the next five years during which England and Wales will host the 2026 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, includes a major capital programme that will see 16 state-of-the-art all-weather cricket domes built outdoors within host cities across England. These will allow for participation in cricket throughout the year, connecting school, community and talent programmes. Each dome will be built within diverse communities where figures have indicated low levels
of physical activity. It follows the first cricket dome opened by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in Bradford. The Government’s investment will also deliver an extension to the ECB and Chance to Shine charity’s free, in-school cricket programme for every single school child in innercity locations within the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup host cities across England. This will have a particular emphasis on children from lower socioeconomic groups building on
existing investment Sport England.
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ECB Chair Richard Thompson said: “It’s our ambition that cricket becomes the most inclusive sport in the country and that starts by giving children the chance to play from an early age and from whatever background or community they come from. It is vital that cricket is available in as many state schools across England and Wales as possible, and across diverse communities.” DCMS
from pedestrian mowers to towed machines
Williams explained: “It’s a hybrid system, so the ground will be seeded all the way around and then, around six weeks into that, synthetic fibres are stitched into it, so that gives the grass added stability to ensure it can give more playing time.”
Multi-million pound boost for grassroots cricket Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced investment of £35 million in grassroots cricket facilities and widening access to the sport within state schools, in the latest move by the Government to get one million more young people physically active by 2030.
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Enquiry 28
Battery Power technology shapes new solutions
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