“We average 54 games a season here on our Desso GrassMaster pitch, plus training sessions, (...) corporate events and music concerts. This definitely puts a strain on the turf. Our Desso GrassMaster pitch handles it perfectly.”
Dan Duffy, Head Groundsman at Liberty Stadium and IOG Groundsman of the Year 2009
Liberty Stadium, home to Swansea City AFC and Ospreys Rugby Club, is a multi-purpose stadium equipped with a Desso GrassMaster pitch.
Dan Duffy, head groundsman at the Liberty Stadium, has won the IOG Professional Football Groundsman of the Year Award 2009.
Chosen out of 24 Championship clubs, it is the first time a pitch used for both football and rugby matches has won the accolade.
3 out of the 5 finalists all have Desso pitches, amongst which Arsenal FC, first runner up for the IOG awards 2009.
Dan Duffy about the Desso reinforced natural grass pitch: “We average 54 games a season here on our Desso GrassMaster pitch, plus training sessions, accommodating a mixture of domestic rugby and football, Eurioopean Cup and International fixtures in addition to County league and cup games, IRB Youth World rugby fixtures, corporate events and music concerts.”
Dan, who manages this programme with one full-time assistant, adds: “Around six times each season we have rugby to football – football to rugby ‘double headers’ in the space of 36 hours, which means working through the night to green out the lines, change posts and generally prepare the pitch. Such a schedule puts quite a strain on the turf.”
Source: sapca.org.uk
“What a fantastic product. (...)
I thank you for the genius of the product that really is at the grass roots and surface of this soulful belief.”
The reaction of Swansea supporter Alex Cunningham on the Desso GrassMaster pitch in the Liberty Stadium of Swansea FC
“What a fantastic product. Swansea is in the Top 5 rainiest places in the UK. The use of Desso Sports Systems in the pitch at the Liberty Stadium is nothing short of a miracle. The playing surface really gets a hammering when Swansea City football club and the regional Ospreys rugby team, who share the ground, often play back to back. ‘The Green Green grass of home’ is synonymous with Wales.
I thank you for the genius of the product that really is at the grass roots and surface of this soulful belief.
Kind regards!”
Alex Cunningham
