Dundee are set to embark on a complete overhaul of the Dens Park pitch.
The playing surface at the old ground has been the butt of jokes after a number of postponements this season, including a twice called-off clash with Rangers.
Those jokes may have been at the Dark Blues’ expense. However, it was a different kind of expense that hurt more after the SPFL meted out an unprecedented financial punishment.
A disciplinary hearing saw the club fined a total of £186,000.
£120,000 of that was suspended until the end of next season with the club revealing just over £36,000 was to cover the use of UEFA pitch specialists and to reimburse Sky Sports for their outlay on matches that did not take place.
To avoid paying the suspended portion of the fine for a match being called off next season, Dundee will this summer plough “considerable investment” into their playing surface.
It’s understood the six-figure sum will be more than the totality of the SPFL’s fine.
Today Courier Sport can reveal what the plans are to solve Dundee’s pitch problems.
When will work begin and end?
Work will being immediately after the final home match of the season.
Kilmarnock visit Dens Park on Saturday, May 18, to complete the Premiership campaign.
The Dark Blues had hoped for the final fixture being away from home so they could get the diggers in earlier.
That’s because the extent of the work will take some time to complete.
The new league season is scheduled to get under way on Saturday, August 3 – 11 weeks after 2023/24 comes to a close.
Dundee are confident the work will not affect the league season.
However, should they be taking part in the Premier Sports Cup group stage there may be an issue.
If that final match of the season instead heralds a return to European competition for the first time in 21 years, they will be given some extra time to get the pitch up to speed.
The Premier Sports Cup starts on July 13/14 while the team finishing fifth in the Premiership this season is expected to start the campaign on July 25.
That is when the Europa Conference League second qualifying round first legs take place.
Get drawn away from home in the first leg and that gives extra time before Dens is required to be ready.
The second leg is on August 1.
What is going to happen?
To fix the drainage properly, Dundee plan to go deep. Deeper than the undersoil heating system.
The layers of the pitch move from grass to soil then sand before you get to undersoil heating 78 inches (almost two metres) below the surface. Then comes drainage.
Removing the undersoil heating is extremely expensive, so that isn’t happening.
Instead painstaking work using micro-diggers will dig between the pipes. This will take time and is the most expensive part of the job.
The plan is to dig beyond the heating pipes and then beyond the newer drainage system to check the older system below for any issues.
Any problems will be fixed before a new drainage system is put in place. The earth, sand and soil will then go back on top.
All going well the grass will be green and ready to go for 2024/25.
New ground staff?
The club has been without full-time ground staff since father and son team Brian and Brain Robertson left the club in February.
Since then consultants Allgrass have been in charge of the playing surface.
A replacement is ready to come in after Dundee United’s head groundsman Paul Murray took the job across the road at Dens Park.
He will start before the final league game of the season and will be fully involved in the process.
There will also be further additions to the ground staff.
‘Serious amount of money’
Dundee general manager Greg Fenton said: “We as a club know we’ve had difficulties with the pitch and we can only apologise to the supporters of our club and other clubs for the issues we’ve faced.
“We have apologised to the league.
“What we have done from the early part of last season is employ contractors and a number of consultants who have given us recommendations in relation to the pitch.
“We’ve taken their advice on and over the past couple of months they have drawn up plans to help with the drainage issues at the Scot Foam Stadium.
“The work will start in May straight after the Kilmarnock game.
“It shows the investment from the owners in the club and the commitment that we have given to Dens as a stadium.
“We also have to satisfy the league requirements to make sure this doesn’t happen again.
“You are talking six-figures easily. It is a serious amount of money being put into the pitch and it isn’t far short of a full revamp.
“It is a considerable investment being put in.”
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