Sheffield engineering specialist SCX has started work to install the world's first fully retractable pitch at Tottenham Hotspur's new stadium in London.

The design involves a grass pitch sitting directly above an artificial surface, with the grass surface being used for football matches while the artificial pitch underneath will be used for NFL matches, music concerts and a range of other events.

The playing surface sits in three pitch-long steel trays, weighing more than 3,000 tonnes each. The pitch will split into three sections before retracting under the South Stand, revealing the artificial playing surface underneath. Overall, the process of switching surfaces is expected to take around 25 minutes.

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Each pitch-long tray is made up of 33 smaller trays, 99 in total for the entire playing surface. The first batch is now being delivered overnight from South Yorkshire to the new stadium site over the next fortnight.

Having designed, engineered and built the innovative real turf football pitch, SCX's work follows its success in using similar engineering technology for the retractable roofs over Centre Court and No.1 Court at Wimbledon.

SCX Managing Director Simon Eastwood said: "This is a massive and complicated moving structure. We have a proven track record in solving bespoke problems that involve moving and lifting huge structures at venues. All the mechanical and control system engineering skills are in-house and genuinely world class."

Danny Pickard, SCX's lead engineer, said: "Our expertise and heritage enables us to push the boundaries of moving structures and precision engineering.

"This pitch technology embodies everything we strive for and care about - delivering precisely what the client needs, with the engineering flair that has become a hallmark of SCX."

(LM/MH)