I have always said and will continue to say that the Belle Vue pitch is the best in Super League by a long way! I do understand that it has very good drainage and indeed the story of the subsoil being power station waste is one I have also heard. It also does benefit from being by far the most open playing surface, so gets plenty of sun and air, very good for grass!



I think some of you are being a little harsh on the Headingley playing surface. Since they abandoned the under-soil heating about 5 years or so ago and deep spiked the pitch to solve the drainage issues, ironically caused by the under-soil heating having 'baked' the sub-soil, it has not been at it's best but has been (this year excluded) still generally better than the playing surfaces at Wigan, Hull & Huddersfield IMO. This year of course, no longer having functioning under-soil heating, it spent most of December January and early February covered. I think the Leeds groundsman said he was only able to uncover it for 2 days out of the whole of January! They kept it playable (only just) and indeed if it was not for these actions you would have all had to stay at home on Boxing Day! When the season started in February it looked bloody terrible but they never had to cancel a game and some credit needs to be given there.



Of course the Headingley pitch has not been relayed since the South Stand was built in the 1930's, when they did put in the under-soil heating they did it from the top and gut groves for the 'heating wires', that the system uses, to be inserted. It is these heating wires that directly heated the soil that started to cause the pitch to have drainage problem as 'baked' layer of soil formed over time and prevented water getting to the drains underneath.



The plan is to completely relay the Headingley pitch, along with a new under-soil heating system, for the opening of the new South Stand early in 2012, when we return to Headingley a few months into the season from what everyone is predicting will be Elland Road for the first few months of the 2012 season. Of course the original plan was to actual demolish the South Stand at the end of this season but GH could not sort out the planning permission in time... we all know what that is like!

The secret to the pitch are the massive Victorian Sumps that run along the Western Terrace under the pitch, these were put in to stop water logging. It should be the best there were less than 30 days of rugby on it last year. No football and no rugby union,

I personally would like to see it used more and have a viable Community Stadium.



I certainly will not be saying I am glad Steve Bath won that award when we are looking at playing Featherstone, sheffield and York.

yer well done to the grounds man his job is made easy though with the manure that plays on the grass week-in week-out

A little late with that joke...

Sorry cant be

to read it all, but that said its a good pitch

How come your pitch is so cr*p then???

The pitch was still the best when Wakefield and Emley and Leeds utd reserves played there......

[urlhttp://wakefieldwildcats.co.uk/2010/10/wildcats-groundsman-recieves-the-ultimate-honour/[/url

Or maybe London skolars south Wales scorpions and Blackpool!

www.superleaguefans.com/wakefiel ... onour.html Lol. Had to post this up. I suppose the ground is pretty well kept!

www.superleaguefans.com/wakefiel ... onour.html Lol. Had to post this up. I suppose the ground is pretty well kept!