Shay will be pitch perfect when the action resumes
THE SHAY pitch has undergone improvement work while FC Halifax Town and Halifax RLFC are on their enforced breaks.
The Shaymen were last in action on March 14 when they lost 1-0 at home to Ebbsfleet, while Fax’s last outing was a 34-20 defeat at Leigh Centurions on March 8.
Groundsman Graham Osbourne said: “It was just a basic scarifying of the pitch, reseeding it, putting 60 tonnes of sand on it and fertilising it.
“Every two years we take the top off, turn it all over and clean it all out.
“We were hoping to do that this year but because of what’s gone on, we didn’t know when the season was going to finish.
“We’ve done it far earlier than normal but we had to do it then because we’ve got to give Halifax rugby and football teams the opportunity to play if they can.
“So we’re waiting for the grass to grow now.
“It’s been that cold at nighttime, it hasn’t done as well as you’d possibly hope.
“It’s getting there slowly. The seed’s just come through in the last couple of days.
“When you get natural rain on it, it’s a completely different ball game and it can make a massive difference.”
Osbourne says it depends when either the rugby or football team resumes playing at The Shay whether the pitch will be ready for them.
The Shay is currently closed until Friday, June 12, meaning the next scheduled game it will host is Halifax’s home game with Featherstone in the Championship, on June 14.
But Osborne says the pitch would be ready for that game.
VOTING FOR the FC Halifax Town Supporters Club’s player of the year award closes at 3pm on Saturday.
The result will be announced at 4.45pm, the time the final whistle should have gone at the end of The Shaymen’s regular season.
Votes can be sent by text to 07522 503981.
ONLINE: Read more sports news at www.halifaxcourier.co.uk