Wolves unveil £1m pitch plans

Wolves have revealed £1million plans to rip up the Molineux pitch and replace it with a state-of-the-art playing surface.

Work taking five to six weeks will start on Monday, a day after the final game of the Premier League season with Sunderland, when a four-inch think Fibrelastic surface will be laid.

The new pitch will offer greater comfort underfoot and less risk of injury, while new undersoil heating will also be installed, leaving groundstaff six to seven weeks to grow the new surface.

Similar work has already begun at Compton to transform the main first team pitch, which will also have undersoil heating for the first time.

Manufactured by Mansfield Sand, Fibrelastic pitches have been laid at Rangers, Newcastle and Bristol City in the last three years and they allow natural grass to grow through a mix of 80 per cent sand and 20 per cent organic matter.

Wolves decided to act after the hard winter, which saw the grass worn away from Molineux after the players were forced to train on it for three weeks.

The work will see the pitch reinstated to existing levels, ending speculation on whether the club would 'dig down' to lower the playing area to add more seats under the proposed stadium redevelopment.

Chief executive Jez Moxey said: "As a Premier League club, we need to ensure our football facilities are fit for the very highest stage.

"We now have the opportunity to see our playing surface become one of the very best in the league.

"This will be the first complete renovation work to the Molineux pitch for 20 years, but we're confident it will be worth waiting for.

"All in all, the investment at Molineux and Compton is costing in excess of £1m."

Head groundsman Wayne Lumbard said: "We've researched three or four different surfaces as well as speaking to a number of clubs and physios."

Lumbard revealed a slope from the north of the Steve Bull Stand to the south would also be levelled off.