Technology

Posted on April 2, 2019 by staff

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium’s ‘world-first’ dividing pitch

Technology

The billion-dollar Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will host its first senior match on Wednesday on a ‘world-first’ innovative surface.

The retractable pitch can divide up into three pitch-long pieces, housed in steel trays, which can slide underneath the stands and reveal an artificial surface to be used for NFL games and events such as concerts.

Each steel tray weighs more than 3,000 tonnes and the process takes around 25 minutes.

Designed, engineered and installed by Sheffield engineering firm SCX, it came through a recent test event for the Premier League club’s U18 match against Southampton.

London rivals Crystal Palace visit on April 3rd, marking a new era at Spurs inside their 62,000-seater stadium.

“It has been a phenomenal success, equal to what we have achieved with the retractable roofs for Centre Court and No.1 Court for the All England Lawn Tennis Club at Wimbledon, and within a very tight timescale,” said SCX project director Danny Pickard.

“The Tottenham pitch went from being perceived as the highest risk part of the project – with all the moving parts, the turf joins and an engineering concept that had not been tried before – to something neither we nor the client had to worry about.

“It’s fantastic. Everything was completed on time despite the huge scale of the project, and communication has been the key. We have a really great client in Spurs.”

Nick Cooper, head of moving structures at Tottenham, said: “It worked first time exactly how we wanted it to work.”

Spurs’ new home also features an array of technology to make most of the club’s relationship with fans.