ACT Government natural turf sportsgrounds will be closed from 17 – 30 September (inclusive) to undergo renovations, which are carried out twice yearly at the beginning and the end of the summer season.

“During the shutdown period all natural turf sportsgrounds will be closed and unavailable for formal hire, allowing much needed maintenance work to be carried out,” Director of Sport and Recreation Services Jenny Priest said.

“The dates of the shutdown period are negotiated well in advance with the sports associations and clubs who regularly use ACT Government ovals to ensure disruption to playing and training schedules are minimised.

The program includes the application of fertiliser to assist turf coming out of winter dormancy and to re-establish turf density prior to summer competitions commencing. Other restoration activities include aeration, top dressing of worn and uneven areas and over sowing of bare or sparse areas to achieve an even turf cover.

Goal posts will be removed from the majority of winter sportsgrounds as they sit in the outfield area of summer sports such as cricket, and back nets will be installed on grounds where softball and baseball are played. Crease markings on cricket wickets will also be re-surveyed and marked prior to the start of the cricket season and athletics facilities will have long jump pits topped up with sand.

There are some exemptions to the shutdown period for teams training for finals and also for Gridiron competition and training, which does not align with the standard winter and summer sport seasons.

Schools are notified of the shutdown period and are asked where possible to limit the use of ACT Government sportsgrounds during this time.

Sportsgrounds will reopen on Thursday 1 October. For more information on the status of sportsgrounds visit sport.act.gov.au.