ESSMA Pitch Management Workshop, Leicester: The Key Takeaways

The host venue for ESSMA’s two-day Pitch Management Workshop, held May 10 and 11, was Leicester City Football Club’s King Power Stadium. LCFC’s pitch has been the focus of much talk in both the grounds staff sector and wider afield thanks to the hard work and dedication of Grounds Manager, John Ledwidge, and his team, with the team adept at creating visually-stunning patterns on the pitch to showcase not only what they can do, but also to shine a spotlight on the grounds staff industry as a whole.

The ESSMA Pitch Management Workshop was the scene for a UK first, with Ledwidge and his team, together with ESSMA Stadium Partner New Ground Technology (NGT), creating a detailed logo design around the centre-circle at King Power Stadium. Using NGT’s patented ‘Green’ technology, Leicester City’s crest was ‘printed’ on to the pitch by gently bending the turf in opposing directions to create light and dark contrasts using only air.

The comprehensive presentations delivered during the sold-out Workshop detailed all aspects pertaining to pitch management, from pitch renovations, tools and technologies, to player injury/turf injury management, budget control and how to effectively manage and deliver events on your most valuable asset; your turf.

Over the course of the two days, attendees heard from LCFC’s John Ledwidge, Simon Gibson and Callum Allsop, Arsenal FC’s Head Groundsman, Reece Watson, Manchester City Football Club’s Head Groundsman, Lee Jackson and the Institute of Groundsmanship’s (IOG) CEO, Geoff Webb and Head of Member Services, Dan Prest. In addition, STRI’s Head of Sports Surface Design, Richard Gibbs, Terraplas’ Operations Manager, Andrea Fodczuk, and Stade de France’s Head Groundsman, Tony Stones were involved in different panel discussions.

The common threads and key takeaways from the ESSMA Pitch Management Workshop were as follows:

Presentations of the Pitch Management Workshop are available for all ESSMA Members. Get in touch at contact@essma.eu to receive your copies. 

If you have any questions about the content discussed during the Workshop, please contact: cyril@essma.eu

The European Stadium & Safety Management Association (ESSMA) will assemble for its European Stadium Tour of Russia this July, 2nd to 5th, during which members will not only get to visit venues in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, but also get attend a FIFA 2017 Confederations Cup third place play-off match. During the event, attendees will benefit from behind-the-scenes tours of Spartak Stadium (Otkritie Arena), VTB Arena Park, Luzhniki Stadium, VEB Arena (CSKA Stadium) and Krestovsky Stadium (Saint Petersburg Stadium).