MJ Abbott

Construction of new Hybrid Carpet Pitch

MKM Stadium, Hull City Football Club

Introduction

New Hybrid Carpet Pitch Construction

The existing multi-sport pitch, used for football and rugby, had reached the end of its useful life with drainage issues and reduced stability.

Through discussions with the club, MJ Abbott were selected to carry out the full pitch re-construction, with County Turf’s HERO hybrid carpet selected as its surface.

The club employed Charles Henderson of OBi as Turf Grass Consultant.

Work started mid-May 2024, and was completed by the 15th June for its first game.

Project challenges

Tight programme

Due to club commitments at the end of the EFL Championship, and the start of Hull FC Rugby League 24/25 campaign, the opportunity to re-construct the MKM stadium pitch was around 4½ weeks.

The club had gained confidence in County Turf’s HERO hybrid carpet system, so the scope of works with short timescale became achievable. We put together a proposal that utilised HERO as a custom grown turf. This meant that the construction would use every available day leading into the 15th June Rugby League opener against Leeds Rhinos.

An important aspect to any stadium pitch project is the efficiency of pitch removal and the timely importation of new materials. Working closely with dedicated site staff, trusted suppliers and hauliers, good communication proved instrumental in delivering the construction programme.

Our approach

The scope of work included:

  • Excavate to remove 450mm depth from the entire pitch surface area, load onto lorries and remove from site to tip.
  • Installation of new primary drainage, irrigation and undersoil heating systems.
  • Installation of geotextile layer; 150mm depth of gravel; 200mm depth of lower sand rootzone; 65mm depth of upper rootzone; amelioration of nutrient retentive amendments.
  • Installation of Rugby and Football goal sockets; Installation of ball stop netting sockets.
  • Installation of County Turf HERO Turf hybrid carpet reinforcement system

Outcomes

The clubs head groundsman Aaron Tong and his team started match preparation before the last line of HERO turf was laid. Such was the nature of this short construction period; every hour was used.

This televised match went without incident and received high praise from players and coaching staff alike.

With Aaron’s expert leadership, backed up by OBi Sports, the pitch continued to improve and is performing as expected for football and rugby use.

From the start we were never in any doubt we got the right people in with MJ Abbott to do our project. Everyone involved went beyond the call of duty to make sure we met the first rugby league fixture.

Aaron Tong

Head Groundsman