Irrigation at Hampden Park

The equipment

Lynx central control system

Turf Guard sensors

TS90 turf cup outfield sprinklers

Infinity sprinklers

The background

Hampden Park, the Glasgow-based national stadium, kicked off 2015 with the construction of a new pitch and undersoil heating, complementing the upgrades with Toro’s advanced remotely controlled irrigation.

The brief

Despite above-average rainfall in the area, head groundsman Stephen Bache was always striving to reduce his mains water bill. He wanted more flexibility than his previous irrigation system could deliver, so specified the Toro Lynx controller integrated with Turf Guard sensors to monitor temperature, moisture content and salinity in the playing surface.

A string of 16 TS90 turf cup outfield sprinklers line the pitch perimeter – two are Infinity sprinklers, fitted in the 3G synthetic turf technical area with the Smart Access option. This allows for essential maintenance of solenoid valves and other features, as the stone base cannot be dug up.

Eight infield TS90 turf cups are positioned in two rows, down each 18-yard line. Taken together, the sprinkler water canopy covers every blade of turf.

The results

In a nutshell, Stephen knew he needed the tools to master the management and maintenance of the playing surface and he knew Toro was the best option.

Proving he was right, within a month Stephen had reported an increase in flexibility, both in terms of pitch maintenance and water usage, following the installation of Toro irrigation.

Swift actuation is vital at half-time as a UEFA directive dictates that only five minutes of watering is allowed. Being able to control the irrigation process from a hand-held device – mobile or tablet – means Stephen will be on standby on the playing surface, using the hand-held remote to configure with Lynx the set up to enable water delivery in such a brief watering period.

The conclusion

With his term in post at Hampden Park stretching back to 2002, Stephen has overseen many changes to the famous turf. He’s now presiding over a new era of domestic, cup and international football fixtures and a season of concerts and other sporting events, and more advanced, controllable irrigation is making his challenging role that much easier.