After the successful completion of the new Norfolk FDC football pitch, part funded by the Football Foundation, CCGrass and partners Charles Lawrence are well on the way to refurbishing the old five and seven a side pitches, at the same Norwich facility.
Bryn Lee, CEO of CCGrass UK called in last week, and commented,
“It was great to see the progress being made by the Charles Lawrence team; replacing the old areas with our Stemgrass turf. This is a heavily used facility, which means a durable turf is required. This doesn’t just mean using a hard-wearing fibre, but ensuring that fibres do not come out of the turf. The current pitches had severe fibre loss, with bald patches appearing – and the turf supplied by a leading European producer wasn’t that old.”
Smaller enclosed pitches, used for 5 or 7 a side football, experience more concentrated wear and generally don’t last as long as full-size fields. However, by following 4 simple rules, there is no reason why better value can’t be achieved for owners and players.
- Choose a hard-wearing fibre. There is still a big difference between the durability of fibres offered in synthetic turf, so make sure you have a good one.
- Check the tuft lock and consider upgrading to a PU backing, which holds the fibre far better and doesn’t weaken over time.
- Make sure that the pitches are correctly installed. This means check the quality of the seams and consistency of infill.
- Maintain the turf. Pitches that are not looked after will not play as well, look as good or last as long.
Without doubt, the Norfolk FDC facility is one of the best run and most popular football centres in the east of England, and with their new CCGrass artificial turf pitches being installed, will soon have the surface quality to match.
