SIS win prestigious Coventry Arena contract

SIS win prestigious Coventry Arena contract

SIS (Support in Sport) Ltd, have won the pitch construction contract for the new Jaguar Arena in Coventry. It will be one of the most prestigious sport and leisure facilities built in recent years.

The £60m complex will boast a 32,000-seater stadium, which will become the new home of Coventry City FC. The facility will also include exhibition halls, a fitness suite, banqueting halls, community resources and hotel accommodation.

The new pitch will host soccer and rugby, and SIS will construct a surface made of their XtraGrass system, for maximum usability. Already installed successfully at Oxford United FC's Kassam Stadium, XtraGrass incorporates natural grass growing through a woven synthetic turf fabric. This enables significantly more hours of play to be accommodated, and gives a natural appearance.

"We are delighted to have won this major project," says SIS Operations Director, Rob de Heer. "We have the right turf system for maximum usage, and our experience will enable the pitch to be installed quickly."

Work is expected to begin on the pitch in February 2005, with completion anticipated within 8-10 weeks. Specialist SIS staff will maintain the pitch up to the handover on 1 August.

Coventry City grounds staff will be involved in the initial maintenance programme prior to handover, so that they are fully familiar with the XtraGrass surface.

The STRI will oversee the construction and check each stage of the installation to ensure quality and consistency.