A New Pitch At Rochdale

Given there will be a lot of work done to the Edgar Street pitch this summer, the news that Rochdale have rebuilt their pitch in the middle of winter is interesting.

Managing Director, Andy Duff, has issued the following in-depth update.

“I’m pleased to share this final update on the pitch rebuild before we resume the normal day-to-day operation of the club and start a busy schedule of important home matches.

“The pitch is now fully installed and performing well. We had 13mm of rain on Sunday, which has passed through the turf overnight and leaves the surface in good condition today.

“Measuring the amount of water that passes through the turf is a key metric, and the new pitch is now achieving an average filtration rate of 500mm per hour. This is compared to a rate of less than 5mm per hour from the old pitch.

“As Charles Henderson, OBI Sports Managing Director, and I communicated at the start of the project, whilst the surface will immediately be suitable for play, supporters will see some joins in the turf. These are purely cosmetic and will improve when the grass starts to grow again in March’s warmer weather.

“This week, the grass will be worked on by our groundstaff, before it is marked up and readied for Saturday’s game against Truro City. We have a large number of home fixtures in the immediate weeks ahead, along with the start of the Rugby League season. However, we are assured the new Halo carpet can withstand this volume of games, although it will need careful management to build strength in the plant.

“Once the football season is complete, there are a small number of Rochdale Hornets games to play before the summer pitch renovation commences around the 25^th May. This work will last for 8-9 weeks and is being completed by the same group of companies that installed our new pitch, under the supervision of OBI, who will remain active consultants for the club in the next 12-18 months."

A video showing how the pitch was rebuilt can be viewed at the end of the article:

https://rochdaleafc.co.uk/pitch-rebuild-complete-190126/: