Skip to content

What does it take to make the Posh pitch perfect?

Laura Devlin
BBC News, Peterborough
Peterborough United FC A view of Peterborough United's stadium, with a man riding a small red tractor across the pitch. The tractor has a rake attachment at the back. The stand opposite has blue seating, with The Posh spelt out in white seating.Peterborough United FC
The pitch renovation begins after the season finishes in May

Peterborough United's team of dedicated groundsmen have embarked on a summer of renewal at Weston Homes Stadium, ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.

But what does it take to make the Posh pitch perfect?

End-of-season clean

Getty Images An aerial view of Weston Homes Stadium. The pitch is surrounded by blue seats with white seats which spell out '1939 POSH'. Around the stadium there are two car parks as well as several streets and rows of houses.Getty Images
The Weston Homes Stadium pitch should be looking its best again by August

Cleaning, repairs and tonnes of sand are just some of what it takes to give a League One pitch a well-earned dose of TLC during the close season.

Work could not begin when the final whistle went after the League One season as the stadium still had to host a junior tournament in May, among other events.

Once under way, the groundsmen began with cleaning the pitch - which they refer to as the "carpet" – to get rid of as much vegetation as possible.

Making repairs

Peterborough United FC A red tractor on the pitch at Weston Homes StadiumPeterborough United FC
The pitch, which is the playing surface in 23 league games each year, is given an overhaul

The team then lift and repair areas of the pitch which have come loose or "popped up".

Groundsman Mark Panter said: "After that, the pitch is dressed with between 70 and 80 tonnes of sand.

"We then aerate the pitch to about three or four inches [of depth] , brush all the sand into the holes and then over-seed and feed the pitch."

Time to grow or mow?

Pete Norton/Getty Images Kwame Poku of Peterborough United controls the ball watched by Sam Hoskins of Northampton TownPete Norton/Getty Images
The pitch was gleaming when Posh took on Northampton Town back in April

"This year it has been a fairly basic renovation because the carpet is quite clean anyway, we knew we were in a good position in terms of where we wanted to go with the pitch," Mr Panter added.

"As we speak now, it is about keeping the top of the surface moist and hopefully within a few weeks we will be getting the mowers out and beginning to cut the grass."

The club can has confirmed it will not have any home pre-season friendlies to ensure the pitch renovations can be completed.

At the training ground, all three pitches have also been worked on before training resumes at the end of June.

Looking ahead

Mr Panter said he was hopeful of warm conditions for the rest of the summer.

"That will help to speed things up but we are happy with the position we are in at this moment in time," he added.

The 2025/26 season will kick off over the weekend of 1 to 3 August in League One and League Two.

Fixtures have not been confirmed yet but will be officially released at 12:00 BST on 26 June.

Follow Peterborough news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

Related stories
Related internet links