Close-up: Tony Stones at Stade de France

Earlier this year, ESSMA interviewed Tony Stones, Head Groundsman at Stade de France. Together with three colleagues, he is in charge of the Stade de France pitch and the untroubled transition between football, rugby and non-pitch events.

The key topics of the interview focused on:

• Tools & techniques: lighting installation, trends, advantages of a hybrid pitch, pitch data, etc.
• Multi-functionality of the pitch: approach towards hosting concerts, pitch cover, reseeding and more.
• Pitch renovation: difference between rugby and football damage to the pitch, time needed between seeding and the next game, and others.
• The opinion of players and technical staff: impact of training sessions, pitch of the training field, etc. 

Below you can find part of the interview with Tony Stones about ESSMA's role regarding Pitch Management. For the full interview related to the other topics (Tools & technologies, multi-functionality, pitch renovation and the opinion of players and technical staff), login to our Knowledge Platform.

I think what ESSMA is doing is really good because they’re getting the management side to see what the groundsmen are doing.  

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