//FA's new National Football Centre opens in Burton-upon-Trent

St. George’s Park, the Football Association’s new National Football Centre at Burton upon Trent, will be officially opened this morning.

The centre boasts a wide range of facilities dedicated to cultivating and enhancing our national game, with coaching and development a key focus. To that end, England’s football teams at all levels of the game will have access to top-level pitches for training and practice, including two 3G artificial pitches with which Technical Surfaces is uniquely involved.

St. George’s Park has an outdoor 3G pitch approximately 10 years old, first constructed when plans for the Football Centre were originally underway, as well as a brand new indoor 3G pitch. Technical Surfaces has been working closely on both pitches in recent months, and will continue to do so as part of our research project with Loughborough University on ‘Artificial Turf: Integrating Maintenance and Sport Surface Science’. The research is being conducted by Nick McLaren, who will complete his Engineering Doctorate in September 2014.

“St. George’s Park is a key site to work with as part of my research into the effects of maintenance on artificial turf” explains Nick. "The newly-built indoor 3G pitch presents me with a rare opportunity to be involved from the start of an artificial grass pitch’s (AGP) life.

“The indoor / outdoor contrast will also be of benefit to my research – the indoor pitch represents a controlled external environment, with consistent temperature and climatic conditions all year round. By removing the influence of weathering from the equation, I can focus my analysis more specifically on the effects of usage and maintenance on AGP performance more reliably than I could on a surface that is open to the elements. That said, the outdoor pitch provides the ‘real world’ features of the vast majority of AGPs, and data obtained from this surface will enable me to evaluate the effects of moisture, temperature and climate on AGP performance, as well as the impact of foreign detritus such as leaves, dirt and debris.

“Being able to conduct my research at St. George’s Park is also of great benefit for another reason – as a prestigious site, the AGPs here will be maintained to the highest standard, and both usage levels and maintenance will be logged in accordance with FA requirements.”

At St. George’s Park, Nick is fortunate to be working with the Head Groundsman, Alan Ferguson, who takes particular pride and interest in all the pitches in his charge, including the AGPs. He is incredibly forward-thinking in his outlook on AGP maintenance, and has worked closely with Technical Surfaces both here and in his previous role at Ipswich Town FC. Alan’s enthusiasm for our research and the work Technical Surfaces is doing for the future of AGP maintenance means that he has been fantastic in putting his AGPs and associated data at our disposal.

Technical Surfaces is proud to be involved with the 3G pitches at St. George’s Park, and we are enthusiastic about the role the FA’s new National Football Centre will play in progressing football across all levels of the game.

Click here for more information on our current partnership with Loughborough University.

Click here to read about our pioneering 'Sports Surfaces Wear' research undertaken with Loughborough University.