CITY have today announced plans for a significant upgrade to the Valley Parade pitch and new drainage system.

The work will be done over the summer by CLS Sport Ltd and overseen by FIFA and UEFA-approved consultant Richard Hayden, who recently completed his 300th pitch.

He said: “I’m delighted to be working with Bradford City on this project. They are a progressive club and we both want to have the best surface possible.”

The Bingley-based Sports Turf Research Institute carried out a full survey to confirm the reasons behind the pitch deterioration.

Chairman Edin Rahic said: “The postponement of the Milton Keynes and Walsall games disappointed everyone connected with the club.

“But despite all the ground staff's best efforts, the combination of a very old drainage system and heavy rain means that water simply rests on the surface, killing the grass and no matter how much work is done by hand or with machinery, it is hard to recover.”

Operations and stadium manager Paula Watson added: “This work is long overdue. The primary drains were installed in 1987 and there has been no upgrade to this system since.

“As such, without major investment we would only be prolonging issues and not solving them. This work therefore was necessary.”