UPDATE: Wanderers' Pitch Plan

Plans are in place to lay a new playing surface at the University of Bolton Stadium in the summer as Wanderers work to combat the effects of a deteriorating pitch.

The current pitch is around 16 years old and has almost doubled its intended lifespan.

A combination of a heavy workload of 14 home league games this season – as well as eight home cup ties and an England fixture in the Rugby League World Cup – and a very wet mid-winter has also contributed to a worn-out surface short of grass cover.

Considerable efforts are being made to improve the pitch in the short term – including the provision of additional heat lamp rigging and seed sowing – to aid the team’s performances as the Whites continue to challenge in League One’s top six.

Major investment will then follow at the end of the season with a timetable in place to lay a new pitch following concerts by P!nk at the University of Bolton Stadium on 7 and 8 June.

Wanderers’ Chief Executive Officer, Neil Hart, said: “Chris Simm and his ground staff have done an excellent job to keep the pitch going for as long as it has.

“Due to its age and the other factors involved it has been impossible to maintain the surface as it was but the staff continue to work hard to do what they can and with the measures put in place we are expecting the pitch to improve going into the spring.

“We then have a plan in place to re-lay the pitch in the summer in a major renovation programme designed to give the team the best possible surface to play on.”

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