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Babylon

Stadium Works

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#FEARLESS is bad but it could be much, much worse. Remember when the club suggested a list of slogans to put on the front of our 08/09 shirt? 'Forever Foxes'  :sick:

 

The scariest thing was about 2% of fans actually voted for that....

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What was I pulled up on before 'MOANING MISERABLE MUNTERS' or TW@sFFS our squad is looking solid our ground improvements are looking tidy and for some pie lovers the return of the Balti Pie !!

Please stop moaning about little things enjoy the great things about the club and our position in the league !!

Some are moaning like miserable old battle axes just chill out ffs !!

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  • 4 weeks later...
Leicester City ready to embrace challenge of hosting Rugby World Cup matches

Last Updated: 17/09/15 6:51am

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The King Power Stadium will welcome the Rugby World Cup next month

Leicester City’s head groundsman John Ledwidge says the Rugby World Cup matches due to be staged at the King Power Stadium next month will not interfere with the team’s flying start to the season.

The Foxes are unbeaten and currently sit second in the Premier League. Their flawless home pitch suits the quick passing, attacking style of play that has characterised their first five league games. 

But their home ground will host three World Cup group fixtures and three further days of rugby training within a nine-day period at the start of October. 
 
"We've been planning meticulously for this ever since we first learned that the KP would be a Rugby World Cup venue," Ledwidge told Sky Sports News HQ.

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"If you'd been here in June, you'd have seen me standing in a six-foot trench where the current six-yard box is, as we put in the huge supports for the 17-metre-high rugby posts." 

The area is now covered over with soil and turf, so that there is no blemish on the immaculate green playing surface.
 
"One of the biggest challenges has been where to store the rugby posts. They're huge." he added.

"In the end, we've put them in the concourses - strapped them inside the pillars that hold the stands up."
 
When it comes to the pitch itself, there have been even bigger challenges.

"Obviously, there are totally different demands for the two sports," Ledwidge said. 

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Argentina will face Tonga and Namibia at Leicester City's stadium

"For a start, the grass will be 28mm long for the World Cup, whilst we cut it to 22mm for Premier League football. That will help protect the surface a bit, but it is much more damaging to the pitch to have 18-stone brutes slamming their boots, and each other, on the surface instead of Riyad Mahrez gliding over it, who's probably eight stone wringing wet.
 
"We've also brought the lighting rigs in about six weeks earlier than we normally would, to help grow the grass as strong and as healthy as possible in advance, and planned the nutrition for the (grass) plants accordingly, so that it's in the best possible condition to cope with the rigours to come."
 
Those lighting rigs cost Leicester more than £250,000. They can be hydraulically raised and lowered to provide more intense heat and light for any areas of the pitch that have been badly damaged by the rucks and mauls.
 
"If you have a scrum, for example, and it's a wet day, it can do quite a bit of damage to the pitch," he said. 

"So, after the game, we can quickly take the lighting rig and lower it quite close to the surface, to give the grass in that area a big blast of light. 

"We treat the grass very much like an athlete - the more work it has to do, the more it needs help to recover, and we've designed all the food and light conditions accordingly to provide the pitch with that. We also take soil samples regularly, to monitor the nutrient levels present."
 
Ledwidge is certain that his pitch will be able to cope with almost 500 minutes of rugby in just over a week. 

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Ledwidge admits it will be a different challenge in comparison to preparing for football matches at the stadium

"It is pretty high pressure," he admits. "But me and the team thrive on that sort of pressure. The standards in the Premier League are so high, we put ourselves under pressure to produce the best pitch we can on a daily basis. 

"And it's a big honour to get the chance to stage some big international games in the Rugby World Cup. But we also have to make sure that the pitch is ready for a return to football, as soon as the rugby finishes."
 
To that end, Leicester's groundstaff follow strict guidelines to produce a surface that suits Leicester's style of play. 

A TRACAB report which uses advanced image-processing technology, has shown that Jamie Vardy is the fastest player in the Premier League so far this season, at almost 35.5 km per hour. With Jeff Schlupp (35.26 km/h) and Marc Albrighton (35.0 km/h) Leicester boast three players in the top four

"Our team is full of pace, clearly, and Claudio likes the pitch to play fast," he said. "So we will always water the pitch more heavily than most clubs, immediately before kick-off and again at half time to give the ball that extra zip.
 
"But we also know that the softer the pitch, the more resistance the quick players feel when they plant their foot as they try to push off. 

"So if we can make the pitch a bit firmer, the better it is for the quicker players so that they can get a firmer base, better acceleration and a quicker sprint. 

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Jamie Vardy has topped the charts as the fastest Premier League player

"But there's a balance to be struck. We do a lot of work with Dave Rennie (Leicester's head physio) to make sure that the firmer pitches don't give a greater risk of injury."
 
He is clearly a master of his trade. Ledwidge and his team have been nominated by the Institute of Groundsmen for the "Groundsteam of the Year" award. They're down to the final two, and are up against their counterparts at Old Trafford.
 
But Ledwidge admits the next month will represent the biggest challenge he's faced in the job so far.

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It's fascinating isn't it .... just shows how much expertise and money go into making every aspect of the club as good as it can be ..... £250k to hire lighting rigs - i imagine the electric meter spins pretty fast with it on too!!!

Solar panels for the roof then.

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It's fascinating isn't it .... just shows how much expertise and money go into making every aspect of the club as good as it can be ..... £250k to hire lighting rigs - i imagine the electric meter spins pretty fast with it on too!!!

We use the lighting rigs all the time as well during the winter. Often see the stadium glowing orange when it's dark.

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Will be horrible to see the pitch ripped to shit on TV. Just hope they can turn it around in time.

Well the head groundsman reconsider the pitch will deal with the great big rugby oafs so we just have to take his word for it !!

All will be fine ffs stop worrying about everything !

;)

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Does that 250k get subsidised at all? Bit unfair to make the club pay for it if not??

Groundsmen do a fab job of giving the players the proverbial carpet to play their game on. Like others I just hope it can be recovered in time for the Palace (?) game.

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