Relaying Hampden pitch

[cooponthewing 1,139]

Yeh, totally agree, if you are behind any of the goals you need a pair of binoculars ffs! Its ok where I was In north stand and I south stand too but in reality the place is a shithole, lets be honest, no concourse, when you go through turnstile its stairs and then its the seating area?? Who's idea was that for a National Stadium?? Who's pockets were lined?? The stadium was built on the cheap, the pitch is a heath hazard and the people left in charge would be better off in an episode of the muppets!!

[ian1964 10,416]

An absolute farce,embarrassing for Scottish football,but not a surprise from this incompetent cabal!

[compo 6,140]

Would be better tossing a coin and playing the match at ibrox or parkhead that surface at hampden is like a building site .

[ian1964 10,416]

Hampden bosses criticised by FA pitch expert over the cursed surface

 

A PITCH expert who works as an advisor to The FA has criticised Hampden bosses for their management of the cursed surface.

 

Work began yesterday at the national stadium to relay the park for the fifth time in seven years ahead of this weekend’s Scottish Cup semi-finals, just a month on from it last being done.

 

While the current repair is carried out at no cost to Hampden Park Ltd - the management company who takes care of the stadium’s maintenance - it was reported the previous work ran up to as much as £200,000.

 

Jason Booth, the general manager of the Institute of Groundsmanship, has criticised the business plan that has seen temporary fixes used at the famous ground in recent years.

 

“What is unbelievable is that you are talking about Hampden having this number of returfs. They have done nearly a million pounds in a few years,” he said.

 

“It’s obvious that that business wants to get a certain amount of use out of that pitch. It’s obvious that over the last two to three years, that pitch hasn’t been able to deliver that amount of use.

 

“You would like to think as a business and an organisation, you are looking at options to get that use out of it. A reinforced pitch is the obvious way to look and you would like to think they are looking at options for the long term. From what I’m being told they are using at the minute, it’s not quite working.”

 

It is understood it is 100 per cent natural grass that is used at Hampden instead of ‘hybrid’ pitches that many top clubs now opt for.

 

Knowing this turf only has a matter of a few days to knit together before this weekend’s crunch games – including the Old Firm derby on Sunday – Booth has deep reservations.

 

“It’s not ideal,” said Booth, who as well as working for the FA has also been head groundsman at Headingley cricket and rugby grounds. “The question we all have to ask is ‘Is it natural turf or reinforced?’ If it is the latter then the playability is going to go up, if not then you have the potential to have a few issues.

 

“Going on the quality of turf, you are going to have damage. It’s just how much. If the turf is not of the standard that is required for that level of football, you are going to have issues with ball roll and playability.

 

“They put a lot of water on the pitch at top level football for the ball to skid along at a fast pace. If the quality of the turf is anything below substandard, that water starts to affect players footing as it stays on the surface. It becomes very slippery.

 

He added: “It’s like a car. You don’t try get 100 miles an hour out of a car that can only do 80. You also have to consider who has built it.

 

“It’s not just a matter of if you lay a pitch will it be ready for the Saturday, there are a lot of factors going into it.”

 

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/1...ursed_surface/

[BEARGER 1,829]

Why would the pitch contractors waive payment this time? Is it due to the pitch being substandard and their incompetence?

[calscot 0]

Why would the pitch contractors waive payment this time? Is it due to the pitch being substandard and their incompetence?

 

I don't think they will be admitting anything like that - this will probably be covered under some sort of warranty period, and I expect the issues to be blamed on unknown factors out-with their control.

 

The contractor may not be paying either, depending on whether they insure themselves against this sort of thing (if that's possible).

[SteveC 150]

I'd like to know why Pacific Quay and SSN are reporting that Mark Warburton said a 'hybrid' pitch should be laid at Hampden without supporting their scoops with quotes to verify it.

 

Do you mean you think he didn't say it?

[boabie 230]

Yeh, totally agree, if you are behind any of the goals you need a pair of binoculars ffs!

 

I remember saying the same about Ibrox when I was a kid Coop.

[cooponthewing 1,139]

It has been raining all day, more rain tomorrow and Friday. I am seriously afraid somebody is going to get badly injured on this surface over the weekend, especially after the bottom of the premiership and 3rd in the championship get to play on it first on the Saturday! This is madness, maybe someone could even tell me why these games could not have been played a week apart??? Or is it a case of that makes way too much sense? It would also have taken the pressure off police as they are always whinging how overstretched they are.

We are a laughing stock, the pitch will be a minefield for the players and the whole of the world will be watching.

[ian1964 10,416]

Hampden chief vows pitch will be perfect

 

HAMPDEN boss Peter Dallas insists the new pitch will stand up to this weekend’s Scottish Cup semi-finals.

 

Dallas claims it would have been a bigger dereliction of duty not to rip up the old surface following last Sunday’s Petrofac Cup Final.

 

Faulty strips of turf put down in February led to the latest revamp, which was completed on Tuesday. But HPL chief executive Dallas believes it won’t affect the Dundee United v Hibs or Old Firm Cup clashes.

 

He said: “The pitch has gone to plan.

 

“We have got every confidence the turf will perform as expected.

 

“It was tested before it was harvested and after it got here. It’s strong and we’ve no concerns at all.

 

“We had to make a difficult decision, but this is the right decision. If we had left the pitch last week more questions would have been asked next week.

 

“Hopefully we’re only talking about two fantastic games of football.”

 

Some 20 lorries delivered 499 rolls of turf, which each measure 13 metres long, 40mm thick and weigh a TONNE.

 

Rangers manager Mark Warburton had claimed there wouldn’t be enough time for the new surface to knit. But Dallas claims that isn’t as vital a factor.

 

He said: “There’s a common misconception the turf is similar to what would come from a supermarket or garden store. This is industrial turf. There’s a weight to it too.

 

“This process has been done throughout Europe by our installation company.

 

“It’s the same process we’ve had over the last couple of years in advance of the League Cup Final.

 

“That was done within the same timescales and both games were played successfully.”

 

Hampden haven’t paid a penny for the new pitch after the original strips were shown to be flawed.

 

Dallas added: “We’d looked at the pitch the weekend before last, and could identify strips not performing as they should.

 

“We had experts up from the turf farm, our installers and independent assessors.

 

“They took samples of the leaf and soil. All three experts had never seen this before, which was very unusual.

 

“They came back on Thursday and the samples remained inconclusive. We were told there was a chance the pitch might come back, but it might not.

 

“At this time of year you would expect some movement in the seed, but the strips hadn’t improved. They may have regressed.

 

“We could have taken a chance the pitch came good over the next ten days, or replaced the turf.

 

“Last Friday we made a collective decision the best course was to relay it.

 

“The supply chain have done an excellent job assisting our groundstaff who have worked 14-hour days this week.”

 

The decision to change the Hampden pitch at short notice — the fifth time it’s been done in seven years — has been blasted.

 

Dallas said: “I can understand the criticism. It’s the national stadium.

 

“We always endeavour to present the best possible playing surface.

 

“But the west of Scotland is one of the harshest environments to look after turf on football pitches.

 

“We’re on the same meridian as Moscow. November, December and January were the wettest months since Hampden reopened in 1999. That had a significant impact on the pitch, and the decision was made to relay it prior to the League Cup Final.”

 

This weekend’s semis are the start of five games in 12 days at Hampden.

 

Bruce Springsteen, Coldplay, Rihanna and Beyonce play concerts there this summer.

 

Dallas added: “The intention is we’d have this surface down for a long period of time.

 

“It will help that the League Cup Final is moving to November, so the semi-finals are in October.”

 

http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/7076738/Hampden-chief-vows-pitch-will-be-perfect.html