x

Portman Road Pitch Highly Commended - Ipswich Town News

The Portman Road pitch, which is set for a major overhaul this summer, has been highly commended by the EFL.

Burnley, Derby County and Newport County were named the 2022/23 Grounds Teams of the Season in the Championship, League One and League Two respectively, but Portsmouth and Town were highly commended in League One.

The judgement is reward for groundsman Ben Connell and his staff, who have been working in less than ideal conditions with the upcoming work on the pitch long overdue.

The Portman Road playing surface was one of the first aspects of Town CEO Mark Ashton identified as needing improvement after he took on his role after leaving Bristol City in June 2021.

Initially, the plan was to replace it last year but with the building work to open up the south-east corner required before the refurbishment could take place, the Blues have had to wait until this summer for the first deep down pitch regeneration since the close season ahead of Town's FA Cup-winning 1977/78 campaign.

"The pitch is on track,” Ashton said at the recent Fans’ Forum, with work set to start as soon as the season ends with the way the work is being carried out meaning it’s not feasible for the old turf to be sold off to fans.

"It’s the summer project, you’re into millions of pounds for this project, not £1 million, millions.

"And that’s because the substructure of the pitch, how far we’ve got to dig down, you’re still no 100 per cent sure what you’re going to find when you do dig down.

"Three stands have been built in relatively recent years, but we’ve taken so many boreholes now and we’ve got a relatively good understanding of what we’re going to find.

"Undersoil heating is going in, that’s no mean feat. The whole new track is going in, which means there is levelling work to be done all the way around the pitch.

"We’ve had really good pitch designers in, it’ll be a hybrid pitch, back in the day they would have called it Desso, but that patent has gone, the manufacturers have done some world class pitches.

"It’s a big piece of work, but I think it will then set us in good stead for how we move forward.”

The work means there probably won’t be time for a Portman Road friendly this July: "Time is tight, pre-season home games this summer will be unlikely, I struggle to see where one would fit in, although I’m not going to write it off yet. But I think the reality is that every day is going to count to get that done.”

What to read next:

U21s Defeated By Luton
A strong Blues U21s side was beaten 2-1 by Luton Town at Bent Lane in a pre-season friendly on Saturday afternoon with Tommy Taylor's first-half strike cancelled out after the break by a much-improved Hatters side.
U19s Draw and Lose Final Games at Czech Tournament
Town’s U19s finished lost one and drew one of today’s place play-off matches at the Zlaty Kahan tournament in Czechia.
Hirst: Early Confrontation Sign of Morsy's High Standards
George Hirst has revealed he almost came to blows with departed captain Sam Morsy early in his Town career, but believes the incident was illustrative of the high standards maintained by the former Blues skipper.
Former Town Defender Ndaba Set For Serie A
Former Town defender Corrie Ndaba is set to join Serie A Lecce from Scottish Premiership Kilmarnock, according to reports in Italy.
McKenna: New Coach Stanislas Comes Highly Recommended
Town manager Kieran McKenna has spoken about the additions of new first-team coach Junior Stanislas and set-piece analyst Michele Aragona.
McKenna: Young Will Bring Experience, Competitiveness and Edge
Blues boss Kieran McKenna says new signing Ashley Young can give the club different things in different areas, among them his experience, competitiveness and his edge.
Hirst: I Thought We Played Really Well, But Aberdeen Gave Us a Massive Challenge
Town striker George Hirst was pleased to add to his pre-season goals tally during the Blues’ 3-1 victory over Aberdeen at Pittodrie.
McKenna: Philogene Very Good Tonight, His Off the Ball Work Was Outstanding
Town manager Kieran McKenna was delighted with Jaden Philogene’s performance in the Blues’ 3-1 victory over Aberdeen at Pittodrie.
McKenna: We Got What We Wanted From the Game
Town boss Kieran McKenna said he got what he wanted from the 3-1 friendly win at Aberdeen and believes his side is in general on the right track.
McKenna: Nothing in the Air Regarding Omari's Situation
Town boss Kieran McKenna says there’s “nothing in the air” regarding Omari Hutchinson’s future with the forward having remained behind in Suffolk to train while the Blues were in Aberdeen for this evening’s 3-1 friendly victory.