WOLVES INVEST BIG IN DESSO PITCH
Being laid in time for pre-season
It has been reported that Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C have invested a 'substantial six-figure sum' in replacing their old playing surface with a new Desso Grassmaster hybrid pitch.
Work has begun in the last couple of weeks, with the club's owners, Fosun, reportedly seeing the new surface as aiding the style of football they want Wolves to play.
Work at Molineux was pictured in the Express And Star
The Express And Star says that there has been recent criticism of the pitch, particularly in 2015/16, but head groundsman Wayne Lombard believes the new surface will be of a high standard all season round – and lessen the chances of injuries.
He told the local paper that the new pitch had been on his 'wish list' and added: "There’s no better system in the world. All the big clubs in the world use it.
"It was decided around March time that we’d invest in the pitch at Molineux again this year, similar to what we did in 2010.
"We’ve been talking about it for about two years and it’s been on the wishlist.
"We were asked this year about making improvements at the training ground and Molineux and this is something we put on the list again, 'is there any chance of going with this hybrid system?'. The owner said yes.
"We had to justify why we wanted to do it. But the pitch lasts 10 years so it's a 10-year investment."
The paper reports that work on laying the pitch will be completed in time for the home friendly against Leicester on July 29.
Wayne went on to tell the Express And Star why the club believe a Desso surface is best for their needs. He is quoted saying, "Over 8,500 sq meters the pitch will be level to a one millimetre tolerance.
"This season the winter was very good weather-wise and we had a great pitch. Last season (2015/16) we had a bad winter, it rained all the time and the pitch wasn’t that good at all.
"The main reason we’ve done this is because you want your pitch to perform at its best in the worst of the winter weather.
"With this new construction it’s 95 per cent sand. So in layman’s terms it doesn’t matter how much water you throw at it, we will never have an issue with it.
"It stays perfectly level, you’ve got the stability of the 20 million fibres knitted into it and there’s peace of mind on a matchday no matter what the weather throws at us.
"After the first game of the season you won’t even see a footprint on it.
"There’ll be more consistency throughout the nine months. The players will notice how good the playing surface is for the whole season."
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