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Town Submit Plans For Further Portman Road Improvements - Ipswich Town News

Town have submitted plans for further work at Portman Road and areas surrounding the stadium, including improvements to the pitch and new turnstiles.

The club began work on improving the ground last summer with a big screen installed, a new access point in the corner between the Cobbold Stand and the Sir Alf Ramsey Stand and new dugouts.

The plans now submitted for the second phase of work have three principle elements including a new playing surface and undersoil heating.

Town initially hoped to install a Desso pitch last summer but now the new sand-based hybrid surface will be put in place in the close season at the end of this campaign.

Although the pitch is scraped and reseeded each summer, it has required an overhaul costing a seven-figure sum for some years. The last work carried out at foundation level was back in the summer of 1977.

In addition to the new elite-level playing surface, Town will acquire plant and equipment for the provision of irrigation and dealing with surface water. Town will also install a new synthetic pitch perimeter run-off.

The Blues will be relocating the turnstiles at the south-east corner to the rear of the Sir Alf Ramsey Stand where there will also be a new exit, the club having purchased land behind the stand last year, with the existing turnstiles to the east and west of the stand, currently accessed via Portman Road and Constantine Road, to be demolished. The new turnstiles will be fully automated, the first at the ground.

"We are delighted to have submitted these plans,” CEO Mark Ashton told the club site.

"The new pitch reconstruction will provide an elite-level playing surface, therefore giving our playing squads the best chance of success.

"The extensive life span of the new pitch will also aid the club’s typical annual close-season pitch refurbishment schedule, to ensure a quality playing surface year on year.

"Relocating the existing turnstiles that are currently split between Portman Road and Constantine Road will provide a more streamlined entry to Portman Road stadium, further enhancing the matchday experience for our supporters.

"We hope the supporters are excited about the plans, and we look forward to work commencing.”

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