Along with many fans across the country, we were delighted to see the 2020/21 Vanarama National Leagues finally get underway earlier this month.
While we’re always thrilled to see matches taking place on one of the eleven 3G Stadia Pitches we have delivered to non-league football clubs, this weekend marks a particularly exciting fixture – as two of our most recent clients face off against one another.
Tomorrow, Saturday 17th October, Havant & Waterlooville FC take on Billericay Town FC at New Lodge, where S&C Slatter recently completed a 3G Stadia Conversion and 3G Community Pitch construction.
With the 3G Stadia conversion at New Lodge handed over in August, you might think the team at Billericay have an advantage over Havant & Waterlooville, having had 2 extra months to train and play on their new pitch, where The Hawk’s handover took place just last week.
The Hawks are no strangers to 3G however, with S&C Slatter returning customer Paul Doswell managing the team and spearheading The Hawks’ new pitch, following the success of the 3G Pitch at his former team Sutton United. Following our construction ahead of the U’s league-winning season in 2015 the team, under Doswell’s leadership, reaped the rewards on and off the pitch in the years that followed.
While we believe it’s too close to call, there’s no doubt the fixture will be an exciting match for both sides at the Blue’s recently transformed home ground at New Lodge. We could well argue that both teams are already winners with their new FIFA Quality Pro stadia, each benefitting from the very latest 3G artificial turf technology from S&C Slatter and our exclusive partners FieldTurf, FIFA Preferred turf producers.
In line with government guidelines, tomorrow’s match will take place behind closed doors, with fans able to buy tickets through Billericay Town’s website as the home team here. As fans of both The Blues and The Hawks, we’ll perhaps be the only ones rooting for a draw!
S&C Slatter wish all the best to both teams tomorrow, and for a successful season ahead.
S&C Slatter are the leading contractor for non-league football 3G Stadia Pitches.
We have delivered more pitches to the highest levels of non-league football than any other.
We’re committed to providing first-class pitches for top performance, maximum use and longevity, with the certifications and success rate to prove it.
With in-house expertise across design, planning, construction and maintenance, get in touch now to discuss your needs.
Call 01635 34521 or email info@sandcslatter.com
S&C Slatter are proud to announce our sponsorship of Margate Football Club for their 2020/21 Season.
As sponsors of the club’s Twitter coverage, we’ll be virtually there with The Gate each and every match day. It’s not the first time we’ve partnered up with the club, having been selected to deliver the advanced 3G Stadia Pitch at Hartsdown Park in 2017.
The works at the club’s home ground took place ahead of their 2017/18 season and involved the conversion of the existing natural turf pitch to the latest 3G artificial turf technology. Following initial groundworks and excavation, specialist drainage was implemented, followed by a stone sub-base, macadam pitch base, in-situ shockpad and Vertex Core artificial turf system from our exclusive partners, FIFA Preferred turf producers FieldTurf.
Learn more about 3G football pitch construction here.
Becoming a Margate FC club sponsor, we’re thrilled to continue our relationship with the club, supporting The Gate through the season ahead.
In a recent article highlighting the announcement, the club commented:
S&C Slatter were the company selected by The Gate to lay the club’s 3G surface in 2017, helping Hartsdown Park successfully evolve into a seven-day-a-week facility offer a training and match day venue for the club’s men’s, women’s, academy and youth sides besides thousands of recreational players who have trained or played at HDP since.
We’re delighted to have witnessed the growth of the club following the 3G Pitch installation and thrilled be a Margate FC club sponsor for their 2020/21 season in the Isthmian League Premier Division.
The club’s next match is against Worthing Football Club on Saturday 17th October. In light of government guidelines, the club are live-streaming their season from Hartsdown Park and tickets for each game can be purchased on the Margate FC website.
We look forward to continuing to support The Gate as the season progresses!
S&C Slatter are the leading contractor for non-league football 3G Stadia Pitches.
We have delivered more pitches to the highest levels of non-league football than any other.
We’re committed to providing first-class pitches for top performance, maximum use and longevity, with the certifications and success rate to prove it.
With in-house expertise across design, planning, construction and maintenance, get in touch now to discuss your needs.
Call 01635 34521 or email info@sandcslatter.com
Just 9 weeks after the groundbreaking ceremony at Westleigh Park, S&C Slatter were thrilled to officially hand over the new, state-of-the-art, 3G Stadia Pitch at Havant and Waterlooville FC, following a ribbon cutting ceremony with Chairman Derek Pope, MP Alan Mak and Mayor of Havant, Prad Bains.
The cutting-edge pitch marks the second installation S&C Slatter have delivered for Hawks’ Manager Paul Doswell, following our successful collaboration at Sutton United in 2015.
S&C Slatter were delighted to work once again with Paul Doswell on this project, a name known to many as the longest serving manager in English football’s top five divisions. Doswell knows all too well the benefits an S&C Slatter 3G Stadia Pitch can bring. Following our 3G Stadia Conversion at Gander Green Lane in 2015, Doswell took Sutton United through promotion to the National League – and a memorable 5th round FA Cup match against Arsenal – in the two seasons that followed.
It’s no surprise that when taking up the reigns at Havant & Waterlooville, Doswell entrusted S&C Slatter to deliver the very latest 3G Pitch technology for his new ground. Speaking to Portsmouth News ahead of construction, Paul commented:
“We have gone for the best one we could have had. We’re using the same company that we used at Sutton, S&C Slatter in Newbury. They are the best quality firm around.” – Paul Doswell, Manager, Havant & Waterlooville FC
A small, socially distanced celebration took place at the newly named Draper Tools Community Stadium on Friday 9th October 2020, with Club Chairman Derek Pope joined by The Mayor of Havant Prad Bains, local MP Alan Mak and representatives from S&C Slatter and Havant & Waterlooville FC.
Bains did the honours during the ribbon-cutting, opening the new elite-level surface with a speech that commented on the benefits of the new pitch for both Havant & Waterlooville FC and the local community.
“Not only does it provide a really great surface for the first team to play on, it engages people across the community. It looks really, really incredible, I’m looking forward to seeing the team play here!” – Prad Bains, The Mayor of Havant
Bains’ sentiment is echoed by many at the club, for whom engaging with the community has been an important factor in the Stadia Conversion. Ready to support the Hawks in their ambitions to progress as high as they can through the leagues, the new pitch is also set to be a focal point for the local community.
Alongside Havant & Waterlooville FC, Portsmouth Ladies FC will also call the stadium home, with youth football, disabled football and walking football now also taking place at the 3G ground, which is already booked out for an estimated 40 hours per week!
Our expert construction team have addressed the significant slope of the original grass pitch, its unpredictable nature causing significant issues last season. The new 3G pitch has been constructed to FIFA Quality Pro standards, with the very latest artificial turf carefully chosen to suit the Hawk’s league ambitions, produced by our exclusive turf partners FieldTurf, FIFA Preferred Producers.
“FieldTurf are delighted to be working with Havant & Waterlooville and S&C Slatter on this prestigious project. Replacing the grass pitch is a high performing FieldTurf Vertex CORE twin fibre surface engineered to provide a soft & resilient surface”. – Paul Fraser, FieldTurf Regional Business Director.
The new pitch marks our 11th 3G Stadia Pitch delivered to elite levels of non-league football, with Havant & Waterlooville becoming the 5th side in the Vanarama Conference South constructed by S&C Slatter with a FieldTurf artificial turf surface.
Our reputation precedes us, and Club Chairman Derek Pope, who was also in attendance, told us that Hawks’ manager Paul Doswell was a driving factor in the decision to work with S&C Slatter – but that the result speaks for itself.
“It’s really beautiful, we’re really pleased. He [Doswell] organised the pitch, brought S&C Slatter in to meet with us. I truly believe we’ve got the top grade of synthetic grass. Thank you very much to S&C Slatter, they’ve done a great job” – Derek Pope, HWFC Chairman
We had a wonderful time at the ribbon cutting ceremony and wish The Hawks the very best of luck in their season opener tomorrow, making their debut on the new pitch as they face off against Maidstone United on Saturday 10th October 2020, 3pm.
S&C Slatter are the leading contractor for non-league football 3G Stadia Pitches.
We have delivered more pitches to the highest levels of non-league football than any other.
We’re committed to providing first-class pitches for top performance, maximum use and longevity, with the certifications and success rate to prove it.
With in-house expertise across design, planning, construction and maintenance, get in touch now to discuss your needs. Call 01635 34521 or email info@sandcslatter.com
It’s been a busy start to the month for S&C Slatter, and with many exciting works kicking off, we were also thrilled to hand over a variety of projects for schools and businesses this week.
We appreciate that these are uncertain times for everyone, and these particular projects showcase how we have delivered cutting-edge new sports facilities for clients at a lower cost, through sports facility refurbishment.
If you’re looking to offer new sports, require a surface upgrade for governing body accreditation, or simply need a new facility, a new build project doesn’t always have to be the answer.
Many of our clients have existing spaces for sport or recreation that are either not fit for purpose or are coming to the end of their useful life. Our in-house experts can identify where these existing spaces have the infrastructure already in place to support a refurbishment project.
With an existing facility, much of the time and cost of construction for a new artificial turf pitch or playing court can be removed from the equation, such as planning, drainage, ground excavation and sub-base construction. (Find out more about the stages of construction for a new build project here.)
While this will of course vary from project to project, based on the existing site suitability, refurbishment is generally more focused on upgrading the artificial turf system or surface in place.
Whether you want to upgrade your sand-dressed hockey pitch to a water-based hockey pitch, a macadam play area to polymeric multi-use games area or install a new 3G surface to FIFA Quality Pro standard, get in touch with our team, who can guide you on what’s possible with your existing spaces.
Take a look at some of the refurbishment projects we’ve handed over to clients in the past week:
An underused macadam multi-use games area at this school was transformed with a new polymeric surface and coating for netball and tennis.
Works included:
This project was undertaken as part of a larger scope of works for the school and involved upgrading the existing sand-dressed surface to a 3G artificial turf system for football and rugby.
Works included:
This project involved the construction of a new 3G artificial turf playing surface over the existing macadam surface, with markings for full and small sided football and entry level hockey.
Works included:
Two sports facilities were created for this school in London by utilising an existing hardstanding space, creating 2x 3G artificial turf 5-a-side football pitches with an adjacent macadam netball and tennis court.
Works included:
With our extensive in-house expertise across design, planning, construction and maintenance, S&C Slatter can advise on the best way to maximise the potential of your existing facilities for your sporting needs.
We’re committed to providing first-class facilities for top performance, maximum use and longevity.
Get in touch now to organise a site visit.
Call 01635 34521 or email info@sandcslatter.com
Almost ready to welcome back your loyal supporters? Need to ensure your stadia is COVID-safe for the 2020/21 season? The Football Foundation’s Matchday Support Fund is ready to help.
With football fans across the country eager to get back pitch side and clubs ready to welcome them, it’s crucial that the right measures are in place to satisfy government and FA guidelines.
Knowing that these new measures don’t come cheap, it’s been welcome news to many that the Football Foundation launched their Matchday Support Fund, ready to help clubs safely welcome supporters back to their stadia.
The Matchday Support fund is a funded by the Premier League and managed by the Football Stadia Improvement Fund. The fund offers a range of grants for eligible clubs to help prepare their facility for a safe 2020/21 season.
The grant is solely to be used for introducing and improving COVID-related measures, in line with each club’s COVID-19 risk assessment and action plan. This ranges from signage and safety screens to increased stewarding and travel.
Eligible clubs are those in the National League System (Steps 1-6), Welsh Premier League or FA Women’s Pyramid (Tier 1-5).
Each applicant must be a club with a minimum of 12 months’ security of tenure over their stadium for the 2020/21 season by freehold, leasehold or licence. Find out more about eligibility requirements here.
The available grants range from £2,000 – £20,000 dependent on the level of football being played.
For example, in the National League System, a Step 6 level team can apply for up to £2,000 where a Step 1 team can apply for up to £20,000.
The closing date for applications is less than one week away! Check your eligibility and apply on the Football Foundation website by 5pm, Wednesday 16th September 2020.
The Matchday Support fund is focused exclusively on COVID-19 measures and cannot be used for pitch or facility maintenance.
If your pitch, fences, pathways or shelters are in need of repair, please contact our dedicated maintenance division on 01635 34521 for a free consultation, to see how we can help you.
While you focus on getting COVID-19 safe, let our experts take care of your pitch maintenance and renovation.
There were smiles all around at Ringmer AFC this week when Albion in the Community (AITC), official charity of Premier League’s Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, popped by to run a free football trial for young players.
The brand new 3G artificial grass football pitch played host to one of two free football trial events on Thursday 2nd September, giving local children the opportunity to join one of Brighton & Hove’s Player Pathway centres.
We’re thrilled that the new pitch, completed in August 2020, could play home to such an exciting community event, promoting grassroots football in the Sussex region.
The extensive sports club relocation project, designed and delivered by S&C Slatter at the new Kings Academy ground boasts a brand-new state of the art 3G artificial grass pitch and two-storey clubhouse. Home to a merger between Ringmer FC and AFC Ringmer, the new pitch, featuring cutting edge artificial turf from our exclusive partners FieldTurf (FIFA Quality Preferred Producers), will deliver first-class performance for the newly merged teams and wider community for years to come.
There’s even more excitement this week: the club’s first games of the season kick off on Saturday, 5thSeptember 2020, with the new clubhouse open for business in line with government guidance.
Best of luck to all four teams playing home and away this weekend!
Official charity of Brighton & Hove Albion FC, the charity is committed to delivering high quality, accessible opportunities that improve the health and wellbeing, education and aspirations of the community.
Find out more on the charity’s website.
Ringmer AFC is the result of a merger in 2020 between existing clubs Ringmer FC and AFC Ringmer. The club currently has five teams playing in the Mid-Sussex Football League, with a youth club and ladies’ team also in the works.
Find out more on the club’s website.
With our extensive in-house expertise across design, planning, construction and maintenance, S&C Slatter can take care of every aspect of your sports ground relocation and construction.
We’re committed to providing first-class facilities for top performance, maximum use and longevity.
Get in touch now to discuss your club’s needs.
Call 01635 34521 or email info@sandcslatter.com
Under the International Hockey Federation (FIH) Quality Programme, S&C Slatter are thrilled to share that the hockey pitch we constructed at Queen Ethelburga’s Collegiate has retained its FIH Global Certified Field status.
The pitch was one of a number of pitches we constructed for hockey, football and rugby in 2014, as part of a wider £30m investment in sport by the ‘excellent’ rated independent school.
The water-based hockey pitch was delivered to FIH Global Certification, meaning that it’s certified for international and top-level national competition, a certification that has now been renewed until July 2022.
We’re proud supporters of the FIH Quality Programme for Hockey Turf. As the first globally recognised FIH Certified Field Builders, we work exclusively with our turf partners FieldTurf, FIH Preferred Suppliers.
Together, we have produced 14 FIH Certified Hockey Pitches designed and constructed for the levels of play our clients require, from Multi-sport through to Global.
We look forward to many more years of elite play at the fantastic facility.
S&C Slatter and FieldTurf have delivered more hockey pitches to FIH Global Certification in the UK than any other contractor.
We’re committed to providing first-class pitches for top performance, maximum use and longevity.
With in-house expertise across design, planning, construction and maintenance, get in touch now to discuss your hockey needs.
Call 01635 34521 or email info@sandcslatter.com
We’re thrilled to learn that Premier League team Newcastle United will be utilising facilities at Queen Ethelburga’s Collegiate, which encompasses pitches built by S&C Slatter, to prepare for the 2020/21 season.
The announcement came last week, with The Magpies confirming that they’ll be relocating to the prestigious independent school near York for a week-long training camp.
The facilities will also host the club’s first pre-season friendly of the summer against Crewe Alexandra, with kick-off set for 2pm today, Tuesday August 25th.
The Queen Ethelburga’s Sports Village boasts state of the art facilities and equipment, with S&C Slatter constructing five new artificial turf pitches and a workout area as part of an overall £30m redevelopment project.
Installing nearly 38000m2 of artificial turf, manufactured by our partners FieldTurf, we delivered full-sizes pitches for football, rugby and hockey, certified to FIFA Quality Pro, World Rugby Regulation 22 and FIH Global quality respectively.
You can find out more about our work at the stunning facility in our case study.
Speaking in an article for Newcastle United’s Website, Amy Martin, Queen Ethelburga’s CEO said:
“We are fortunate to have some world class facilities on our site and a team of staff who will do all they can to help ensure a successful start to pre-season training for the club. We would like to wish Steve Bruce, his staff and players all the very best for the season ahead.”
We know that Queen Ethelburga’s will prove to be a fantastic location for the Newcastle United training camp – we hope that both teams are able to put our pitches to the test and wish them the best of luck in their pre-season friendly!
Queen Ethelburga’s is an Independent day and boarding school, comprising of four schools and a kindergarten all rated to ‘Excellent’ by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI). Find out more on the school’s website.
Formed in 1892, Newcastle United have been a permanent fixture in English football for over 125 years. Playing at St. James’ Park since their very early days, The Magpies play in the Premier League, finishing 13thin the 2019/20 season.
S&C Slatter are a leading sports contractor to both Independent Schools and Elite Sports teams, proudly working with clients such as Eton College, Queen’s Park Rangers, Everton FC and Queen Ethelburga’s Collegiate.
We’re committed to providing first-class pitches for top performance, maximum use and longevity.
With in-house expertise across design, planning, construction and maintenance, get in touch now to discuss your needs.
Call 01635 34521 or email info@sandcslatter.com
S&C Slatter were thrilled to hand over the brand new artificial grass 3G stadia pitch conversion at Billericay Town FC last week.
With the team already back on site constructing an additional community 3G pitch at New Lodge, we caught up with club co-owner Greg Lake to hear his thoughts on the new project.
There were several reasons to be honest, both in terms of revenue and maximising use of the excellent facilities that we have. If we are to make the club self-sustaining then those two factors need to be made to work together.
We are traditionalists, but the reality is that with grass, you are going to lose matches, training and commercial opportunities to the weather. Our pitch has traditionally suffered every year and whilst money has been spent – every season recently – on improving drainage, there are areas that hold water and become pretty much unplayable during prolonged wet spells.
I think that the ability to train, and play, consistently on a first class surface will give our teams that extra edge and familiarity with their surroundings. If you practice set pieces in the same place that they are going to be executed, then that’s got to be a bonus. The ambition that these pitches point towards is also a fabulous statement that is already attracting new players to the club..
There’s no mud ! Seriously though, it looks fantastic. We’ve always had a very pronounced slope. That has been markedly reduced as the work that S&C Slatter have undertaken has levelled the main pitch significantly. Everyone that has seen the pitch just loves it – what more could we ask?
For us, [the best part] was actually once the work on the main pitch started. Watching the process and the professionalism of the team. We could have sold tickets just to watch the work progress!
The whole team knew what they were doing and were happy to explain things to us. We enjoyed having them onsite. A massive shout out to Paul Warren (S&C Slatter Sales Manager) as well, he made sure that all of our expectations were met.
It was trying to imagine what the whole finished product would look like. We had a very pronounced slope. That’s now been addressed by the work but at that first site meeting we were worried about how the rebalancing would affect the stands, the access to the pitch, the dugouts and the view for the fans.
The team worked through all questions patiently explaining each item in turn. It made us feel that we were in safe hands.
The ‘buzz’ around each teams’ WhatsApp group has been fantastic. They have been bursting to try it out and desperate to be one of the first squads out there. It’s definitely contributing to the excitement of preparing for a new season.
Our senior teams are geared to being very competitive and the goal is obviously to be pushing for promotion. We want to win things and put smiles on the faces of players, parents, fans, staff and community.
If we can do that consistently, with the help of the new pitches, then we as owners might get to smile too!
The club was founded in 1880 and there are now 50 teams playing under the Billericay Town banner with more to come. The teams start right down at U7s on the boys side and U10’s on the girls. There is then a pathway right through to the respective adult first teams. That’s the important thing for us, to provide a real focus for football within the Billericay community. We are now adding walking football into the mix and will also be looking to launch disability teams in the future.
We have a loyal and committed fanbase who are right behind what we’re doing but also rightly there to hold us to account and make sure that we honour the rich history of the club. We are just owners through this period of the club’s history (however long that lasts) – the club has been here for many years before us and our role is to make sure that it is sustainable and positioned to serve the Billericay area for many more to come.
Thanks so much to Greg for taking the time to do this Q&A with us, the team had a great time delivering the new 3G Stadia Pitch Conversion and are looking forward to handing over the second 3G community pitch very soon.
We can’t wait to watch the teams at Billericay Town FC put both pitches to good use next season!
S&C Slatter are the leading contractor for non-league football 3G stadia Pitches.
We have delivered more pitches to the highest levels of non-league football than any other.
We’re committed to providing first-class pitches for top performance, maximum use and longevity, with the certifications and success rate to prove it.
With in-house expertise across design, planning, construction and maintenance, get in touch now to discuss your needs. Call 01635 34521or email info@sandcslatter.com
