Tag: pitch

World Cup winner and British and Irish Lions legend Lawrence Dallaglio, OBE, cut the first turf and officially marked the beginning of construction work on Warden Park Academy’s full size 3G multi-use sports pitch last week.

The installation is part of a continual investment by the academy to build on its 60 years of District, County and national reputation for sporting excellence.

The new playing surface is being constructed in collaboration with Notts Sports, leading specialist in the design, advice and supply of artificial turf for multi-sports and playgrounds.

O’Brien will install a 6,052m2 3G FIFA 1 star compliant surface, underground perimeter and lateral drains, granular unbound base, an airlastic loadbearing geotextile and shockpad, kerb edgings, perimeter fencing and floodlighting.

Steve Hillman, General Manager, O’Brien Sports, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have secured the project. The new pitch will provide students and the local community with the opportunity to participate in frequent sports activities; building confidence, self-esteem, academic excellence, character building, but also give them a platform to realise their sporting goals and ambitions.”

O’Brien Sports delivers natural sports pitches, such as those used for rugby, football and cricket. It also supplies synthetic and Multi Use Games Area pitches, with surfaces suitable for just about every sport and user – from professional sports teams to schools, sports clubs and communities.

Recent projects include a synthetic grass hockey pitch for Burton Hockey Club and a 3G synthetic grass football pitch – constructed to meet FIFA requirements – for Worthing Football Club.

After 10 years in the making, the Gerard Buxton Sports Hub, owned by the Royal Wootton Bassett Sports Association (RWBSA), has been officially opened.

The new complex boasts a full size third generation (3G) FIFA 1 Star Football Pitch, eight floodlit macadam surfaced tennis courts – installed by O’Brien Sports and Greenfields UK – along with two cricket pitches and a new ground with spectator stands for Royal Wootton Bassett Town Football Club.

We secured the 3G pitch and tennis courts phase of the project through our ongoing investment in state-of-the-art 3D earthworks modelling software and GPS controlled excavators and bulldozers. This technical capability was pivotal in creating the earthworks concept and reproducing the design to the precise specification and in the most efficient method possible.

It also enabled excavated earth to be recycled back into the scheme helping the client reduce overall spend, by preventing material from being taken to landfill and also decreasing lorry haulage movements leading to less pollution in the atmosphere.

Steve Hillman, General Manager, O’Brien Sports, said: “We are delighted to have once again partnered with Greenfeilds UK and look forward to developing a successful relationship.”

“We are continually investing in our people and technology so that we can provide our customers with the highest standard of customer service, a strategy that has paid off as we continue to be awarded sports pitch contracts of this high calibre.”

Royal Wootton Bassett Sports Association Chairman, Peter Yeardley, said: “This journey started more than 10 years ago, at a time when demand for sports facilities could not be met by the original grounds bequeathed to the town in the 1930s by Major Gerard Buxton.

“To see sporting activity on the new site is simply fantastic and we are proud to continue the legacy of Major Buxton.”

The O’Brien Sports management team has over 55 years’ experience in sports pitch construction and have delivered schemes throughout the UK, including: a 3G football pitch at Worthing FC, a Lano 3G synthetic pitch at Westfield Academy, a sand dressed hockey pitch at Burton Hockey Club and two natural turf pitches for Rugby Town Junior Football Club.

The sports installations delivered include natural sports pitches, such as those used for rugby, football and cricket, and synthetic and Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) pitches with surfaces suitable for just about every sport and user, from professional sports teams to schools and communities.

According to a report published by Ofsted, outside of football, a large proportion of students, who have gone on to become the next elite athletes and tennis, rugby union and cricket players, have been nurtured on the sports fields of England’s independent schools.

41% of Team GB athletes who won a medal during the London 2012 Olympics were educated at an independent school. This is quite remarkable when you consider only 7% of school-aged pupils attend an independent school in England, compared to 86–93% of the population who are educated by a state run school.

This should come as no surprise when you consider that Independent schools have embedded competitive sports into their culture and ethos. They ensure all students participate in frequent sports activities; building confidence, self-esteem, academic excellence, character building, but also providing young people with the platform to realise their sporting goals and ambitions.

Independent schools do enjoy greater financial benefits over state schools, but now the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is investing over £1 billion in the next few years to help people get fitter and healthier through a range of programmes designed to make access to sports facilities easier for everyone.

So, with grants and funding available to schools and local authorities, this is a great opportunity to get new sports pitches and facilities in place and bring competitive sport into the fabric of the education curriculum of state schools.

It is vital that schools and local authorities make the most of this opportunity because the skills adopted during physical education and through regular participation, are essential to the early development of children and young people. It can teach them key values, including: sportsmanship, teamwork, respect, mutual understanding and honesty.

Through competition, a child’s education is a far richer experience. They enjoy competition. Competitive sport encourages children to try harder. It also provides them with the experience of winning and losing and how to deal with both emotions.

Sports Pitch Specialists!

Investing in new sports facilities has to be done right for two important reasons: firstly, so that you get the best value from your budget, and secondly, so that you receive a high standard installation ensuring students can and will use them for years to come. To do it right you need to work with the best sports pitch providers you can and O’Brien Sports, who’s management team has over 55 years’ experience in sports pitch construction, is one of the first large civil engineering firms able to offer turnkey solutions for a range of sports facilities.

The company delivers projects ranging from stadiums and arenas through to rugby, football and hockey pitches. This capability is all maintained in house – with no outsourcing required – by a team of experts with a proven track record of delivering design and build sports projects to a diverse range of exacting client specifications.

The sports installations that we deliver include synthetic and Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) pitches with surfaces suitable for just about every sport and user, from professional sports teams to schools and communities, and natural sports pitches, such as those used for rugby, football and cricket.

Recent projects have included the construction of a FIFA-compliant football pitch, an Olympic-standard, eight lane athletics track (complete with long jump, triple jump, high jump and pole vault) and a football club (complete with 11 natural turf pitches, changing facilities, entrance road and car park). All elements of these projects were handled in house and to our uncompromising standards.

Services

O’Brien Sports offers a full range of sports pitch services, including:

• Full design and build construction projects
• Synthetic and multi-use games area (MUGA) pitches
• Pitch renovations
• Natural sports pitches
• Total solutions for sports pitches
• Infrastructure, including: access roads and car parks

The total solution…from concept to construction, we design and build all Synthetic and Natural Sports Surfaces.

T: 01926 423918

E: info@obriencontractors.co.uk

Leading civil engineering and groundworks company, O’Brien Contractors, which was named as Construction News Specialists Awards 2015: Specialist Contractor of the Year, has been awarded a contract for the construction of a new football pitch and eight tennis courts at Gerard Buxton Sports Hub, Wootton Bassett.

The project will see O’Brien construct a 7500 m² third generation FIFA 1 Star Football Pitch and eight macadam surfaced tennis courts covering 5,500 m2 to LTA/ITF standards.

Steve Hillman, General Manager – Sports Division at O’Brien Contractors, said: “We are extremely honoured to have won this contract with Gerard Buxton Sports Association and look forward to applying our sports pitch expertise in order to provide a facility constructed to a very high standard.”

“The new 3G pitch and tennis courts are the latest phase of a new, multi-million pound sporting centre being created by Gerard Buxton Sports Association. It is testament to the growing success of our sports pitch team that the Association has shown faith in our ability to deliver this prestigious project for the local community.”

The O’Brien Sports management team has over 55 years’ experience in sports pitch construction and is one of the first large civil engineering firms able to offer turnkey solutions for a range of sports facilities, delivering projects ranging from stadiums and arenas through to rugby, football and hockey pitches.

The contractor will be installing a Greenfields XQ6A system.

Leading civil engineering and groundworks firm, O’Brien Contractors, has joined forces with the Official Facilities Partner of England Hockey, Notts Sports, for the installation of a new Lano 3G synthetic pitch at Westfield Academy.

The new pitch, part of several major new sports investments at the school, included upgrading an ageing redgra area to provide students with a state-of-the-art playing surface supporting a wide range of sports, including: football and hockey. The project also involved the construction of a dynamic base, fencing and floodlighting.

O’Brien worked with Notss Sports to implement a design which recycled waste materials from the redgra area, to create a new compound for the groundsman.

Steve Hillman, General Manager, Sports Division at O’Brien Contractors said: “As a company, we are fully committed to minimising the impact of our activities on the environment in order to operate a business that is safe, sustainable and socially responsible. On all the projects we operate on, we look to recycle waste materials into the scheme to reduce the amount of spoil sent to landfill and provide cost savings to our clients.”

Local sporting hero and Yeovil Town Football Club player, Chris Weale, was invited to officially open the new pitch. The opening ceremony kicked off with players from Pen Mill U11 squad joined by Westfield students from Year 7 & 8 taking part in a demonstration tournament, with Chris, a former student of the academy, refereeing one of the matches.

Steve Hillman added: “We are delighted to have had the opportunity to work with both Westfield Academy and Notts Sports on such an important project for the school. The feedback of the new pitch has been excellent, which is now used by many community groups and regarded as one of the best in the area.”

The installation of a 3G pitch can cost between: £300,000 to £500,000 and take up to 12 weeks to complete. Once installed, the new pitch can provide an additional revenue source generating in the region of £200,000 a year based on 50 hours use per week.

The O’Brien Sports management team has over 55 years’ experience in sports pitch construction and is one of the first large civil engineering firms able to offer turnkey solutions for a range of sports facilities, delivering projects ranging from stadiums and arenas through to rugby, football and hockey pitches.

Recent projects have included the construction of a FIFA-compliant football pitch, an Olympic-standard, eight lane athletics track (complete with long jump, triple jump, high jump and pole vault) and a football club (complete with 11 natural turf pitches, changing facilities, entrance road and car park).

The England Rugby World Cup 2015 provides the perfect opportunity to deliver a lasting legacy and to raise the profile of sport in our schools and the wider community.

In order to capitalise on the interest in sport generated, the availability of referees, coaches and quality sports facilities, to enable the next budding sportsmen and women to achieve their ambitions and succeed in their chosen field, will be high on the agenda.

Sports Pitch Specialists

The O’Brien Sports management team has over 55 years’ experience in sports pitch construction and we are one of the first large civil engineering firms able to offer turnkey solutions for a range of sports facilities, delivering projects ranging from stadiums and arenas through to rugby, football and hockey pitches. This capability is all maintained in house – with no outsourcing required – by a team of experts with a proven track record of delivering design and build sports projects to a diverse range of exacting client specifications.

The sports installations that we deliver include synthetic and Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) pitches with surfaces suitable for just about every sport and user, from professional sports teams to schools and communities, and natural sports pitches, such as those used for rugby, football and cricket.

Recent projects have included the construction of a FIFA-compliant football pitch, an Olympic-standard, eight lane athletics track (complete with long jump, triple jump, high jump and pole vault) and a football club (complete with 11 natural turf pitches, changing facilities, entrance road and car park). All elements of these projects were handled in house and to our uncompromising standards.

Oswestry School
O’Brien Sports constructed a synthetic grass hockey pitch for Oswestry School in Shropshire.

The design and build contract involved the construction of a full size sand dressed synthetic grass hockey pitch, installed upon an insitu rubber shock pad, on an engineered base.

The project included approximately 4500 m3 of earthwork remodelling, the construction of a spectator area, fencing and floodlighting. Additional works included: access roads and car parking facilities with bollard lighting.
The new pitch was completed within the 12 week time-frame and was handed over to the school ready for its new term.

“From my perspective, it was a delight to work with O’Brien and would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone. One of the reasons for choosing O’Brien was the fact that we were dealing with the top management from the start.”
Phil Bowd – Bursar at Oswestry School

Wasps Rugby Club
O’Brien Sports partnered with GreenFields UK for the installation of a new playing surface at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry.

The project involved site preparation works to remove the existing 8000m2 playing surface before the installation of a new natural turf surface, farmed in the Netherlands, could be installed. Works started on 5th December and was completed ready for Coventry City’s home league game with Fleetwood Town on 20th December.

Services
O’Brien offers a full range of sports pitch services, including:

• Full design and build construction projects
• Synthetic and multi-use games area (MUGA) pitches
• Pitch renovations
• Natural sports pitches
• Total solutions for sports pitches

The total solution…from concept to construction, we design and build all Synthetic and Natural Sports Surfaces.

T: 01926 423918
E: info@obriencontractors.co.uk

Coventry City Football Club has another O’Brien on board – but unlike team captain Jim, its work has taken place underneath the Ricoh Arena pitch, rather than on it.

O’Brien Contractors prepared the ground at the Ricoh, including removing the 8,000 sq m playing surface to allow GreenFields to install the new pitch there last December.

O’Brien Contractors is the first and only large civil engineering firm able to offer turnkey solutions for a range of sports pitch installations, delivering projects ranging from athletics tracks, football pitches through to hockey and rugby pitches.

This capability is all maintained in house – with no outsourcing required – by a team of experts with a proven track record of delivering design and build sports projects to a diverse range of exacting client specifications.

The company has now taken an advertising board at the ground and believes it will help to raise the profile of the firm on a national basis.

Mick O’Brien, Director, O’Brien Contractors, said: “This is a very specialist field and is something we want to shout about to the world and, also, we want to raise awareness about the company in general.

“We have sponsored Coventry City in the past and also tie-in with other local clubs so we do have a good sporting heritage.

“Over the years, O’Brien have been fortunate to have great success and are keen to ensure we give back to the community whenever possible. This includes sponsoring numerous local sporting clubs, providing everything from the kit to the scoreboards. We also support many schools by supplying playground materials and new IT equipment.”

Tynan Scope, Coventry City’s corporate sales manager, said: “It’s great to have O’Brien Contractors on board with the club in this way and we have seen how this kind of sponsorship can help to raise the profile of a business over many, many years.

“In our game against Rochdale recently, three of the four goals were scored right in front of their board and resulted in positive national TV exposure for the company – that’s just one of the many benefits.”

Winner of 2014 Building Awards: Contractor of the Year (up to £300m), O’Brien Contractors, has completed a hockey pitch resurfacing project at Eastbourne Hockey Club in East Sussex.

O’Brien’s 9 week contract involved; the removal of the existing 16 year old sand filled synthetic grass surface, the adjustment of existing sub base and the installation of a 5027 m² DOMO Hockey Xtreme MDC Ultra sand filled synthetic grass hockey pitch with inlaid lines.

Prior to installation, the appropriate sub base tests were conducted to ensure levels in each working area were in accordance with the specification.

The works, which took place within a live sports facility, also included surveying and making adjustments to the existing Lava/ Rubber Crumb Dynamic layer.

Steve Hillman, General Manager – Sports Division at O’Brien Contractors, said: “One of our key capabilities is our commitment to providing our clients with the most efficient and cost effective service available at all times.

The new hockey pitch contract is something we have been particularly proud to have won and has provided us with the opportunity to show case our sports pitch capabilities and our commitment to delivering total customer satisfaction.”

Established in 1958, O’Brien Construction is a second generation, family-run business that has gone from strength to strength and expanded into a range of new sectors. We are one of the first large civil engineering firms able to offer turnkey solutions for a range of sports pitch installations, delivering projects ranging from athletics tracks, football pitches though to hockey and rugby pitches.

To date, O’Brien has delivered projects for a range of top quality clients, including Jaguar Land Rover, Nestle, the National Trust, Morrisons, Aston University, Kier Construction, Wates and John Sisk.

For more information, visit www.OBrienContractors.co.uk

The pitch was officially opened by the Mayor of Eastbourne and England Ladies’ number-one hockey goalkeeper, Maddie Hinch.

O’Brien Contractors, winner of Construction News Awards 2014: Tomorrow’s Company, has partnered with leading European sports pitch specialist, GreenFields UK, for the installation of a new playing surface at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry.

The sports contractor secured the contract with GreenFields UK through its track-record of providing successful pitch installations for organisations, including: Oswestry School, Eastbourne Hockey Club, Kewford Eagles FC and Aston University.

The project at the Ricoh Arena involved site preparation works to remove the existing 8000m2 playing surface before GreenFields UK installed the new natural turf, farmed in the Netherlands. Works started on 5th December and was completed ready for Coventry City’s home league game with Fleetwood Town on 20th December.

Aviva Premier League side, London Wasps, had initially announced its intentions to replace the current pitch during the summer to provide a playing surface suitable for the demands of both rugby and football matches, however, following a consultation, the rugby club decided to lay an interim pitch to ensure both Coventry City and London Wasps had a surface required to give them the best chance of success.

O’Brien Contractors is the first and only large civil engineering firm able to offer turnkey solutions for a range of sports pitch installations, delivering projects ranging from athletics tracks, football pitches though to hockey and rugby pitches. This capability is all maintained in house – with no outsourcing required – by a team of experts with a proven track record of delivering design and build sports projects to a diverse range of exacting client specifications.

The sports installations that we deliver include natural sports pitches, such as those used for rugby, football and cricket, and synthetic and Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) pitches with surfaces suitable for just about every sport and user, from professional sports teams to schools and communities.

Sports Management Magazine – Vol 18 issue 4 2014

As the UK obesity statistics soar, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is investing over £1 billion in the next few years to help people get fitter and healthier through a range of programmes designed to make access to sports facilities easier for everyone.

These investments are crucial in getting people more active as a report released by the Institute of Economic Affairs in August 2014 revealed that Britain’s obesity problem is more to do with lack of exercise than with eating too much, or eating the wrong things. So, with grants and funding available to schools, sports clubs, community groups and local authorities, this is a great opportunity for neighbourhoods all over the country to get new sports pitches and facilities in place and get people more active.

With the latest statistics showing that 64% of UK adults are overweight or obese, as are one in every ten children when starting primary school, it’s vital that schools and communities make the most of this opportunity.

Pitching It Right

Investing in new sports facilities has to be done right for two important reasons: firstly, so that this crucial funding is put to best use, and so that people can and will use them for years to come. To do it right you need to work with the best sports pitch providers you can and O’Brien Contractors is the first and only civil engineering firm in the UK able to offer turnkey solutions for a range of sports pitch installations.

The company can deliver projects ranging from stadiums and arenas through to sports tracks and football pitches, tailored to meet your individual needs. O’Brien’s team of experts has a proven track record of delivering design and build sports projects to a diverse range of exacting client specifications and all of the work is completed in-house with no outsourcing required, meaning you get better value for money and projects are always delivered on time and on budget.

The sports installations the company delivers include natural sports pitches, such as those used for rugby, football and cricket, and synthetic and MUGA (Multi-Use-Games-Area) pitches with surfaces suitable for just about every sport and user, from professional sports teams to schools and communities.

Recent projects that O’Brien has completed include the construction of a FIFA-compliant football pitch; an Olympic-standard athletics track complete with long jump, triple jump, high jump, pole vault and a 400m running track; a football club with 11 natural turf pitches, changing facilities, entrance road and car park; and a full size sand dressed synthetic grass Hockey pitch, installed upon an insitu rubber shock pad on an engineered base for Oswestry School.

“From my perspective, it was a delight to work with O’Brien Contractors and would not hesitate to recommend you to anyone. One of the reasons for choosing O’Brien was the fact that we were dealing with the top management from the start (Mick) and because you are the actual contractors rather than a middle man. The construction itself wasn’t straight forward due to a large cut and fill exercise, but the end result is spectacular and we are very pleased with the outcome. In addition, all of the subcontractors used for the specialist areas (floodlights, fencing, and pitch surface) were very reputable with no shortcuts in quality once the contract had been won. Overall, we are very pleased.”
Phil Bowd – Bursar at Oswestry School