How much it cost Calderdale Council to replace the Shay Stadium pitch then repair the faults

Details have emerged about how much it has cost Calderdale Council to repair faults with the Shay Stadium pitch weeks after replacing the surface.
The new pitch at the Shay Stadium before it encountered problemsThe new pitch at the Shay Stadium before it encountered problems
The new pitch at the Shay Stadium before it encountered problems

FC Halifax Town's pre-season campaign has been severely disrupted by having to switch games from the Shay due to a problem with the surface, while Fax's home game with Widnes on July 14 left question marks about the state of the pitch.

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Details revealed in a Freedom of Information request revealed what has happened to the pitch and how much it has cost.

What has happened to the pitch?

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Calderdale Council said it applied weed killer to the pitch two weeks prior to any work taking place.

They then korrowed off the top couple of inches of the pitch. The pitch was then sanded, ameliorated, levelled then seeded with 26 bags of seed.

It was treated with a pre seed application and a root enhancer.

The Council then then verti drained to help the roots go deeper.

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After six weeks Halifax Rugby club played the first game on the pitch.

After the game the Council noticed it was cutting up which suggested the roots had not had time to go deep enough. They over seeded (by hand) all divots and bare patches.

The Council then applied another 11 bags of seed. After the next rugby game technical experts were brought in to assess the pitch as it continued to cut up.

They advised as little play as possible to give the pitch time to knit together and for the roots to go deeper.

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The pitch was then treated with a spray on fertilizer and root enhancer and also Iron to strengthen the grass.

The Council said it is awaiting the results of further tests and cannot state that the pitch has failed at this stage, as they will not know this until we see how the pitch plays for the rest of the season.

The pitch replacement cost Calderdale Council £8,500 with the cost of rectifying the issues caused by the failure of the initial reseeding of the pitch resulting in an additional £600When asked if compensation will be paid to the clubs for loss of income due to the cancellation of fixtures Calderdale Council said in the FOI request: "The Council has not cancelled any of the clubs fixtures.

"We work closely with both clubs thus they were aware of the early issues we were having with the pitch.

"The clubs took the decision to change fixtures to protect their playing surface for first team league games. We appreciate the action they have taken and will continue to work with them."