NewsHigh-performance pitch installed at the new home of LFC Women

New timelapse footage released today has captured the five-week process of removing the old turf and installing the Premier League-standard Desso pitch – watch in the video below.

This is the same playing surface as at the AXA Melwood Training Centre, making it a seamless transition for the team from training to home matches.

With the Barclays Women’s Super League season not scheduled to start until September, it is St. Helens R.F.C men’s team who get to play on this pitch first as they host Castleford Tigers on Friday night.

LFC Women manager Matt Beard said: “It was wonderful last season to train every day on the fantastic surfaces at the AXA Melwood Training Centre.

“To replicate that at our new home stadium at St Helens is really exciting and we can’t wait to play our first match on it. It’s up to us now to show the supporters what we can do on this superb surface.”

The pitch upgrade is part of the new agreement for LFC Women to share the stadium with St. Helens R.F.C. – with both their women’s and men’s teams benefiting from the pitch work. It has been a joint effort by both LFC and St. Helens grounds staff.

Back in May, Liverpool FC confirmed the next exciting milestone in the ongoing growth of its women’s team when an agreement was reached for a new home stadium for the upcoming season.

The stadium will continue to be the home and property of St. Helens R.F.C. With the rugby league season running from February through to September, LFC Women will have sole occupancy of the stadium for almost half their season.

There will also be enhanced and exclusive player-use facilities, and an improved matchday experience for supporters will follow for the start of the campaign.

The new 10-year lease at St Helens Stadium demonstrates the club’s long-term commitment to its women’s team and ongoing desire to provide the players and staff with the best facilities possible, fulfilling the ambitions for LFC Women and to support its continued growth.

The move to St Helens follows the significant investment in the acquisition and redevelopment of the AXA Melwood Training Centre, making it one of the best women’s training facilities in the WSL. There is also continued investment in the squad, backroom and wider infrastructure within the women’s senior team and Pro Game Academy.

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