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44 Phonebox Magazine | July 2025Milton Keynes branchCall 01327 810185Email miltonkeynes@greenthumb.co.ukWe provide a premium lawn care experience.We seed them, feed them, even control the weeds. So, you don%u2019t have to.For a FREE lawn analysis visit greenthumb.co.uk or contact our local team.Real lawns for real livesMK Dons gets high-tech new pitch Hybrid playing surface going down for new season.MK Dons players and their opponents will be playing on a new surface next season after the start of a complete reconstruction to prepare for the 25/26 campaign.During the summer break, Stadium MK%u2019s pitch is undergoing a massive refurbishment involving the introduction of a state-of-the-art Hybrid GrassMax stitched playing surface, as well as a complete update to the irrigation system.The Hybrid GrassMax system has been trusted by many elite football clubs, including Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, West Ham United, Olympique de Marseille and Villareal.Using a combination of natural grass and artifi cial fibres, the unique system adopts a hybrid approach to playing surfaces and will provide the club with a high-performance surface for many years to come. The roots of the natural grass mix with the man-made fi bres to create an elite playing surface with improved drainage effi ciency. %u201cThank you to the Chairman, Fahad Al Ghanim, and the board as we continue to drive the club forward on multiple fronts,%u201d said Neil Hart, MK Dons CEO.%u201cThe pitch reconstruction was one of the top priorities. With a vast number of matches played at Stadium MK, not just by the fi rst team, but the Academy and the women%u2019s side also, it was imperative to provide the best possible surface for our players.%u201d%u201cOliver (Grice-Hewitt, ground%u2019s manager) and his team have been excellent in their eff orts to get the best out of an older pitch. The fi eld of play has needed replacing for a little while, and we%u2019re hoping that the diff erence in quality will be apparent for all to see.%u201d%u201cSelecting an elite pitch system such as GrassMax shows the aspiration of the direction we wish to strive in.%u201d%u201cSome of the ground%u2019s staff have been here 10 years but haven%u2019t seen a reconstruction like this before,%u201d said Oliver. %u201cFirstly, we%u2019re removing the hybrid carpet which was installed years ago. Underneath that, we have a Desso stitching ground. Once both layers are removed, we%u2019re fully replacing the irrigation system before updating it to a modern version.%u201cThe new surface will be a hybrid pitch, which me and my staff will have to grow from seed for the beginning of the season. Usually, the construction of the pitch takes around a month depending on the weather. After that, it%u2019s anything from 4 to 6 weeks to grow and develop it.%u201d