Bristol Rovers fans have expressed their surprise at further pitch renovations taking place at the Memorial Stadium.
Last summer Bristol Rovers tore up their much maligned pitch entirely to fix long term problems with the playing service at the League One club, caused by issues with the sand/soil used under the grass.
A new fibre pitch was laid which reinforced the turf meaning it does not come up in clumps as had been the case previously.
The results were remarkable, with the surface at the Mem pristine from start to finish in 2018/19, even through the most testing winter months.
In testament to the dramatic transformation of the playing surface Bristol Rovers groundsman Daryle Sullivan and his staff were named Grounds Team of the Season in League One earlier this month.
However the club are carrying out further planned work on the pitch to insure the surface is even better next season.
Speaking to the official Bristol Rovers website after being asked about the situation by Bristol Live, head groundsman Sullivan explained: "The work that is being carried out now is necessary maintenance work to ensure we uphold the high standard of playing surface here at the Memorial Stadium.
“The reason this work is done is that it removes all the weak grass and allows you to build a bed of deep-rooted grass, which is vital in ensuring that the playing surface doesn't cut up throughout the season. "
“Having the surface clean, takes away all the factors that would cause issues further down the line, that would damage healthy grass growth.
“This process is something that most clubs would do every season, to keep the pitch maintained to the highest standard, that will endure the rigours of the football season.
“Our thanks go out to Premier Pitches, who have helped us through the maintenance process and have conducted their work in a timely and professional manner.”
Going further into what is taking place at the ground during the off-season, Sullivan said: "The first stages of the work was to the koroing of the existing surface, to remove all the growth to a depth of 10mm, which takes about three days to complete.
“Once that stage is complete, we will then top dress the surface and apply a pre-seed fertiliser, before vertidraining the pitch to relieve any compaction to the surface.
“We then over seed the surface for the new grass to grow and from that point, we are looking at a 14 to 18 day period of germination, where after that we can then do our first rotary cut of the new grass.
According to the club the work was always planned as part of their long term plan to ensure the Gas have one of the best playing surfaces in the division.
