Put some life back into your old sports facility…

Did you know that Notts Sport’s Fast Track Funding initiative was originally designed for schools and sports clubs looking to resurface an existing pitch?

Just 16 hours of hire per week could provide all of the necessary funds needed to resurface a facility with new high quality synthetic turf.

This ideal funding solution is a cost-effective alternative to building a new facility, utilising a site’s existing features, whilst crucially updating its synthetic playing surface. This key change will improve player performance and will ensure that the life expectancy of your old structure will also improve dramatically.

‘Fast Track Funding’ can be used to fund some, or all, the resurface of an existing synthetic pitch (as well as new builds). The scheme allows clients to offset the capital costs of the project and repay over a 5 – 7 year period, eliminating the need for any initial capital cost.

The lifespan of any synthetic turf pitch is largely dependent on the extent of usage, appropriate maintenance procedures being carried out and the quality of the surface/base system installed. Whilst these three aspects can be carefully managed to help maximise the life of the synthetic turf surface, it is inevitable that the day will come calling when surface replacement is necessary. Next comes the question, how will the resurface works be funded?

In an ideal world a sink fund would have been contributed to at regular intervals over the course of several years since the facility was first constructed. Unfortunately it is often the case that a sink fund is insufficient, has already been spent elsewhere or, in some cases, has never been put in place at all!

If this is the case, there is an alternative funding solution available. And one that is ideally suited to synthetic pitch resurface projects!

Fast Track Funding was introduced so that clients can make repayments utilising the income that a resurfaced pitch would generate from pitch hire. With an ever increasing number of clients choosing to use Fast Track Funding, we have found that through developing a partnership with a local sports club/clubs, our clients can guarantee a considerable number of bookings during evenings and weekends. This can take a large proportion of any risk involved in ensuring that repayments can be made. In effect, the facility would being paying for itself! Furthermore, in the case of a School or Academy, as bookings are in the evenings and weekends, it does not affect the use of the facility by the School/Academy itself.

Using our finance projection calculator, Notts Sport can work with you to put together a business model to ascertain the feasibility of using Fast Track Funding for your synthetic pitch resurface. This would take into account the ‘incomings’ that a resurfaced pitch could generate from pitch booking fees but also acknowledge any additional ‘outgoings’ such as specialist maintenance, floodlight running costs and lamp replacement.

Not only that, Notts Sport can also provide assistance in helping you to develop a partnership with a local sports club.

From working with numerous clients who have resurfaced their synthetic pitches using Fast Track Funding, we have confirmation that the income generated from pitch bookings can cover the necessarily repayments and, in some cases, go on to generate extra income as well!

For more information please email markw@nottssport.com or call 01455883730.

There are also a series of free seminars being held in locations across the UK throughout November 2016 which provide a detailed insight into Fast Track Funding. If this is of interest you can book a place via https://fs6.formsite.com/NottsSport1/form6/index.html

ShockWave: From Lab to Pitch

ShockWave tiles, so-called because of their wave-like contours, slot together like jigsaw pieces to form a combined upper base and shockpad performance layer: the perfect foundation for Multi Use Games Areas (MUGAs).

Each and every ShockWave tile passes through a series of quality control tests to ensure it meets Notts Sport’s and our manufacturer’s stringent requirements.

As every tile comes out of the mould, the dimensions are recorded to ensure it is within the tight tolerances of +- 2mm, or +-0.17% of the total length of a tile. During production a sample of tiles are regularly weighed, to ensure the correct density of expanded polypropylene is maintained. The data is continuously analysed to determine if the machine’s settings need to be altered during production which minimises waste and downtime should any abnormalities occur.

The tiles are stored on trolleys when they leave the mould which are then wheeled into large ovens to dry the tiles. The drying process stabilises the tiles to ensure the dimensional stability and functional performance of the tile is unaffected by the environmental conditions (temperature, humidity) when installed and used on site, even in the more extreme conditions experienced outside of the UK.

Each trolley has a unique barcode which is scanned at every stage of the manufacturing process which details the product, batch & production numbers and the stage within the process. When the tiles are loaded onto the delivery vehicle, they receive their final scan which will ensure a tile never misses part of the well-orchestrated manufacturing process.

When the tiles are delivered to Notts Sports warehouse a random sample of tiles are run through a series of quality control testing. The size (length, width and thickness) and mass of the tiles are recorded as well as the functional performance. Force reduction, a measure of how absorbing the tile is compared to a hard rigid floor, i.e. concrete, is undertaken in three positions across the tile using an artificial athlete. The Head Injury Criterion (HIC) and Peak-G values are recorded using a Triax 2000. The HIC test is used in rugby and GAA sports and determines a severity value for head impact injuries. These values are compared against historical data held on the material to ensure it meets the tight tolerances accepted. The artificial athlete and Triax 2000 test devices are regularly calibrated externally and values are recorded before and after testing on known samples to ensure the repeatability and accuracy of the recorded data.

If irregularities are found, the volume and air flow of the material can be investigated at the manufacturing plant to determine the exact cause of the problem. Tiles found to fall short of the tight manufacturing tolerances can be chopped up and reused in other expanded polypropylene or polypropylene products.

All Notts Sport ShockWave Ecobase products are manufactured using virgin material to ensure the tight manufacturing requirements and the long term warranty offered against the product.

View ShockWave in action.