New pitch for Rochdale AFC and Hornets

The pitch at Spotland is looking good

Work on the new pitch at Spotland is complete and it’s almost ready for Rochdale's home pre season campaign which starts against Blackburn Rovers on Saturday 20 July. Rochdale Hornets will use the new pitch eight days later against Oxford RLFC.

Contractors moved on to the pitch on Monday 3 June and started an extensive overhaul. Last season's pitch was removed to allow a clean bed, before the pitch was verti-drained. Fibre sand was then used to keep the pitch knitted together.

The usual procedure to get the pitch ready for both teams is to let the grass grow a small amount after Rochdale AFC have played as the Hornets like to play on longer grass.

Oli Makin, the Head Groundsman at Spotland, said: “I’m delighted with the end result; a bit more work might need to be done after the friendly next week.

“Hopefully, it will carry on improving until September when we’re obviously well into the new football season.

“It’s only been five weeks since the old pitch was seeded, the fantastic weather at the time helped a lot.”

Throughout the first two weeks, Oli used a process known as rotary mowing which allowed the grass to thicken up as it continues to grow.

Oli hopes his efforts result in a successful period for both teams.