National Grounds Week

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It's National Grounds Week and the chance to celebrate the work of the grounds team at the Amex and training ground.

Matt Bishop

2025-03-22T06:00+00:00

Some of the 17-strong team who look after the pitches at the American Express Elite Performance Centre. 📷 Paul Hazlewood

As part of Grounds Week 2025, we sat down with Phil Fifield, head grounds person at the Amex, to learn more about his role and what goes into keeping our home pitch – and the 17 at the American Express Elite Football Performance Centre – in great condition.

How many grounds staff does the club have and how do you split work between the training ground and the Amex?

We have five full-time grounds staff at the Amex alongside me – Luke Chapman (Deputy Head Grounds Person), Lewis Turner, Ryan Matthews and Tom Bacon. On match days we are supported by a further seven staff – Ray, Jack, Joe, Ben Lewis, Chris, Dan and Amaya.

At the training ground, we have 17 full-time grounds staff which includes two deputy heads and three senior grounds staff. In addition to this, we have a workshop manager and two mechanics. It is important each site has its own staff due to the workload, but we do encourage staff from the training ground to assist on match days and gain experience of working games.

📷 Paul Hazlewood

You must be used to wet and cold winters, as we’ve just experienced! Has this year been any worse and if so, what can you do to counteract the elements?

It feels like this winter has been a particularly long one – but it has actually been drier than previous years which is a positive. If there is heavy rainfall or a frost we have to avoid working on the pitch. This is to ensure that when we can work on the pitch the surface is in the best possible condition.

📷 Paul Hazlewood

Equally, in the summer, we will tend to cut the pitch earlier in the day when temperatures are cooler. The same conditions that can cause us problems can cause ill health to the pitch so we have to treat it carefully. Ultimately, it’s about doing the job correctly, working to the conditions we have and being patient, rather than forcing the matter.

Is wet and cold more or less difficult to deal with than excessive heat?

The biggest challenge inside the stadium is always setting the humidity. We are growing grass in a shaded bowl without natural air movement or air flow which can harm plant health and allow disease to fester.

Diseases are usually caused by microorganisms called pathogens, which are bacteria, viruses or fungi that can have a detrimental impact on plant health and pitch performance. We address these issues by simulating airflow with turf fans that are set up pitch-side to enhance air movement and cool the surface. We also ensure the pitch is dew-brushed daily and that a heavier volume of irrigation is applied in the morning when humidity is naturally declining.

📷 Paul Hazlewood

The club has already done a lot to improve sustainability and environmental protection. What’s happened in the last 12 months to maintain this progress?

Sustainability is at the forefront of everything we do. We have transitioned away from relying solely on high-pressure sodium lighting for our grow lights and are maximising our growing conditions with LED lighting. This means we are able to control the canopy condition to what heat the leaf will require at any time via infrared heating – or use no heat at all by turning off the infrared and running solely on LED.

This process allows to save electricity costs whilst proving a more harmonious environment for leaf growth and root development. The turf fans help promote good health too and lower diseases, which means we are less reliant on fungicides.

We have also been trialling UVC light application to scan the grass leaf and remove fungi and harmful bacteria from the pitch. This trial is being enhanced in April with a UVC robot which applies light overnight when humidity is lower and disease pressure rises.

Other sustainable processes include washing machinery and mowers via a wastewater recycling system at the training ground, with a similar system set to be installed at the Amex soon; grass clippings taken to composting sites or reused in resin coffee coasters; and liquid pressed out of cut grass used to produce a fertile residue used across both sites.

📷 Paul Hazlewood

What’s the next big innovation in pitch maintenance? Could AI play a part or is it such an exact science that more ‘traditional’ methods will always prevail.

AI is a useful tool for helping to make informed decisions, like any technology advancements it’s something to assist us. We use SGL turfpods as a pitch interface to help review live data from the pitch for moisture, humidity, temperature, salinity and weather changes, whilst helping to link this data to our grow light deployment.

We are data-driven in our management and maintenance of the pitches and we have been using Turfcoach AI for the last five months. This offers solutions for automatic data collection across the pitch, which helps monitor key turf parameters and live data. The technology enables precise and pre-emptive stress detection on the pitch and offers data-driven insights for turf maintenance based on the tasks performed and recorded on the pitch.

Has Fabian Hurzeler made any special requests in terms of the Amex pitch? It seems to have played really well this season.

Nothing specific, but we have had positive feedback from him, the staff and players all season which is always encouraging.

Could you give us an insight into your role at the Grounds Manager Association and what that entails?

The Grounds Manager Association excel in promoting excellence in grounds management and providing members with the knowledge, resources and networking opportunities they need to grow in the industry. There is also real commitment to sustainability, innovation and education – and in my role at the GMA I support and drive these initiatives as an independent board member.

What would you say to a youngster considering a career in grounds maintenance?

Grounds Week is an opportunity for everyone to celebrate the people who make great sport possible and shine a light on the vital work that goes into keeping pitches in top condition. It’s a great industry to work in as you’re working with a living entity that requires a lot of care and it’s great to see it grow and thrive and come to life.

I’m very fortunate to work with some amazing grounds colleagues who are very skilled and passionate about what they do with a drive to succeed. It’s very rewarding and can take you as far as you want to go.