Long Term Irrigation Control Partnership At Burnley FC

Burnley Football Club's Gawthorpe Training Centre has reached its next stage of development with a new Desso Grassmaster floodlit pitch, reconstructed by J Mallinson (Ormskirk) and featuring purpose designed irrigation installed by Irrigation Control. From one self-contained training pitch in 2005, a rapid expansion of the training facilities over the following years has culminated in 2017 with the new £10 million Barnfield Training Centre.

"We enjoy long term relationships with our pitch and irrigation system suppliers. An understanding of what we are trying to achieve and familiarity with the site is vital. The continuity that Irrigation Control and J Mallinson (Ormskirk) provide gives us all peace of mind, “says Groundsman Barry O'Brien.

The “top pitch” currently being reconstructed has 20 Rain Bird perimeter sprinklers as well as in-turf rotors. It has presented the opportunity to integrate this pitch into Gawthorpe's site wide irrigation system which has the basic aim of providing the necessary water to any given pitch or area in the quickest possible time at the lowest cost. This takes into consideration the different surface types, prevailing weather conditions in terms of wind speeds, rainfall, sunlight and evapotranspiration rates.

The Rain Bird control system provides a cycle based on calculated requirements for the whole Gawthorpe site. Irrigation takes place overnight when temperatures and wind speeds are at their lowest and therefore evapotranspiration rates are also low.

Some 260 Rain Bird 8005 in-turf rotor sprinklers and 950E valve-in-head perimeter sprinklers are in use throughout Gawthorpe in addition to the Rain Bird single Site Control System with evapotranspiration based scheduling, customised graphics and mapping. “ We specify Rain Bird because of the product quality and reliability and have been impressed with the technological advances developed specifically for the sports turf market over recent years," says Lee Knight, Contracts Director at Irrigation Control.

Thanks to wi-fi, Barry O'Brien's team can interact remotely with the control system via a smart phone App or browser. They also have the facility to upgrade and link to a Rain Bird weather station for a closer look at upcoming weather forecasts. Mapping functionality also gives them a user friendly visual site wide overview of the irrigation system.

Rain Bird is on Stand A9 in Hall A at BTME 2018.