Town's award-winning groundsman Alan Ferguson has been advising those in charge of the pitches in use at this summer's World Cup in Japan and South Korea.
Ferguson, who won the Groundsman of the Year award last year, was at the recent British Turf Managers Exhibition at the Harrogate International Conference Centre and was asked to get involved by grass seed merchants Barenbrug. They asked him speak with a team from the Toyoto Stadium who were over on a fact-finding trip.
Ferguson takes up the tale: "Barenbrug were advising the Toyoto team when I arrived on the stand. It occurred to me that the tent that we currently use to protect the Portman Road playing surface from extremely cold conditions, could equally be used in areas of high temperatures by replacing the warm air blowers with a chiller unit. In effect you would then ‘air condition' your pitch."
Ferguson has agreed to compile a dossier for the Japanese as they seek to get their playing surfaces in order for the summer: "I've seen several images of the new stadia. There are some spectacular designs and that's great, but it seems as the tournament approaches, more attention is being paid to the actual playing surface, and that must be good for all involved."