More turf maintenance equipment for Goodison Park.
More turf maintenance equipment for Goodison Park.
By Peter Driver
Bob Lennon, Head Groundsman at Everton Football Club, has taken delivery of more turf maintenance equipment to help maintain the playing surface at Goodison Park.
The new equipment includes a Jacobsen Tri-King triple reel mower, a new Ransomes Mastiff for match day preparation and an Iseki TK538 compact tractor, which will be used primarily at the Bellfield training ground. This latest batch of equipment has been supplied to the Premiership club by Burrows (GM) Ltd, Ransomes Jacobsen's dealer for the northwest region.
The pitch at the stadium was re-laid last summer in preparation for the 2005-06 season and Bob had less than 10 weeks to produce a new pitch from seed. The irrigation system has been upgraded and the under soil heating completely renewed and moved 10" closer to the surface to aid efficiency and reduce running costs.
"We had the pitch ready for the opening game against Udinese on 23rd August and that was a great credit to the efforts of my grounds staff. They deserve all the recognition for their efforts", said Bob. "This is the beginning of a major phase of investment in premier turf maintenance equipment. With the new training ground and academy under construction at Hale close to the Knowsley Expressway, we need the best equipment available. Within the 56 acre site we'll have 10 full size grass pitches, two 5-a-side grass areas, a synthetic all-weather outdoor pitch and a similar sized one under cover, and that's a lot of maintenance."
Bob Banks of Burrows added, "We have an excellent relationship with Everton and have supplied numerous items of equipment to Bob over the years. With the move to the new training facility we are looking forward to continuing our partnership to help him and his team produce the ultimate playing surfaces."