Hibernian Football Club

Steven Thomas, Head Groundsman at Hibernian Football Club, has credited Barenbrug’s Elite Sport seed blend for taking his stadium pitch to the “next level” this season. 

“Phenomenal” is the word the former greenkeeper uses to describe the impact one change has made to surface quality at Easter Road, as he revealed that ProPitch testing in autumn scored 100% for turf quality across the attributes evaluated, with an overall score of 91%.

“We have the surface independently tested four times a year, and we’ve never scored above 86% for turf quality,” he explains. “At the same time the previous year our overall score was 71%. The change we made this year was the seed.” 

Steven is a former golf greenkeeper and Future Turf Manager Initiative (FTMI) scholar who was already familiar with ‘the yellow bag’ before landing his dream job at the Scottish Premiership club where he has been a lifelong supporter, in November 2022. He explains how he took a measured approach to pitch management upon arrival.

“It was important for me to get to know the characteristics of both the surface and the growing conditions within the stadium. The 20-year old Fibres and pitch was in poor condition when I arrived, and we just needed to get it through winter as best we could. The Scottish weather makes our job challenging, exacerbated by poor air flow and shade - a major issue in our stadium. 30-40% of the pitch is in shade, and in winter problem areas along the south end and east stand suffer from no or low light as the sun struggles to get up and over the stand. It was also impossible to regulate the temperature of the 40-year old undersoil heating system, which was either on - at 20 to 30 degrees Celsius, or off.” 

The club has been supportive of Steven’s ambitions to improve the pitch, investing in an additional member of staff, new maintenance equipment, a mobile lighting rig, and a 5% stitch installed by SIS ahead of the 2022/23 season to help minimise damage caused by sliding tackles.

“After my first full season I was armed with experience and test data and felt confident that I could enhance both playing conditions and performance for the season ahead,” he says. “One of the advantages of working in the turf industry is the opportunity to get to know your peers, through social media and in-person. Through this network I was able to visit other clubs to learn from their experiences and found there was one common denominator: Barenbrug Elite Sport.

“Having used Barenbrug seed extensively during my 19-year career in golf I contacted Dr David Greenshields and sought technical advice ahead of our renovation. We Koro’d off, removing 80 to 90 tonnes, put 100 tonnes back in, turned it over, compacted and seeded, adding an organic feed, wetting agent, and granular pre-seed fertiliser. We had germination in five days, and made the first cut in thirteen, going from seeding to play in six weeks.

“There is a marked difference this season,” he confirms. “We have great colour, faster recovery from wear and tear from our fixture schedule and damage caused by foxes, and the pitch has responded well to our maintenance regime. Our local representative, Stuart Tait, has provided ongoing support. Technical advice from the breeder has been invaluable during the transition period and into the new season.

“I made the decision to use Barenbrug with complete confidence, through my own experiences, those of the Grounds Managers at other clubs I visited, and because of the strength of the perennial ryegrass cultivars in Elite Sport. I cannot change the infrastructure of the stadium pitch, but my job is to provide the best surface possible with the knowledge, products, and equipment available to me. That two or three per cent improvement makes a significant difference, especially when turf is under stress, and I will keep striving for those improvements season after season.”

Barenbrug’s Stuart Tait adds, “Steven is an excellent groundsman who has made huge improvements to his surface, with backing from the club. Elite mixtures are used across the UK by many top turf professionals. Elite Sport is blended specifically for high usage stadium environments. Carefully selected cultivars such as Barzico, Barbasten, Barpersie and Altivo bring a wide range of positive characteristics to the bag, including disease and drought resistance, exceptional wear tolerance and recovery, and outstanding visual merit. Sports turf managers are prioritising these when selecting their seed, and we are more than happy to advise them.”