AFC Wimbledon were forced to rearrange their 2024/25 Carabao Cup third round clash against Newcastle United after massive floods caused by heavy rains in the area.
The Wombles were initially set to face off against the Premier League heavyweights at their Plough Lane stadium, but that cannot happen after their ground has been tarnished by the adverse weather.
The heavy rains have resulted in flooding around the Wimbledon area of South-West London, making it impossible to host a match.
Not only were the areas around the stadium severely waterlogged, but Plough Lane’s pitch itself was also heavily damaged because of the flooding.
Drone footage of the stadium showed that one corner of the football pitch was almost torn apart, with the grass basically coming off and exposing the yellow ground surface beneath it.
This particular image of the Wombles’ stadium made many dub this as looking like a golf course, because of how it looks like the sand in an area of a golf pitch.
This has been caused by the heavy rain storms that happened on Sunday (22 September), causing for flooding of the River Wandle – which is nearby Wimbledon’s home ground.
That particular flooding has left the football pitch looking all churned up and for other areas around the ground waterlogged too.
Overwhelmed pipe system
But it’s not the storm itself that caused the corner of the AFC Wimbledon stadium to ‘come apart’ and look like that. Normally, football stadiums have their drainage system beneath the football pitch.
In a stadium, plastic pipe drains are installed at a depth of 450mm and 600m below the ground level.
This is normally done to ensure that the drainage work can happen smoothly without the possibility of flooding or an excess amount of water affecting the grass on the pitch. It appears that the pipe system beneath the Plough Lane might’ve been compromised by the heavy rains.
Genuinely the truth, from an insider, underground water pipes used for pitch drainage were overwhelmed, backed up and ‘exploded’ creating a wash away for the foundations.
— John Want (@MontyWanty) September 23, 2024
Looks like the ground under the pitch has become liquified & the pressure of surrounding water has pushed water up through the pitch, fountain-style. There’s drone footage on here showing how the stadium is flooded too. There’s also a river nearby, which might be a factor.
— brixton hatter (@BrixtonHatter) September 23, 2024
The underground drainage pipes most likely got overwhelmed by the large amount of water that entered the stadium and pitch due to the heavy rain and flooding.
This caused for the water to shoot up through the grass, causing their structure of the grass in that area of the pitch to be totally compromised.
Some footage of the Plough Lane during the rain did show that the pitch was also flooded by the amount of rainfall that occurred and that caused for the ‘burst’ of a section of their pitch.
Basically, Wimbledon’s stadium was not built to withstand this amount of rainfall and a build-up of excess pressure in the drainage system caused for the grass to come off.
Sand-based surface
Another reason could be that the pitch is more susceptible to damage due to its sand-based undersurface, which lacks the stability of soil. This makes it more prone to breaking apart under heavy weather conditions.
The issue is it’s a sand based undersurface not soil . Massive cost to sort . More than £50k
— Rob Turnbull (@ITINTERACT2) September 24, 2024
Wimbledon’s vice president spoke to Talksport about the damage suffered by the storms and stated: “We don’t know the full extent yet. You know, there’s so much water.
“There’s so much going on that it’s going to be investigated and a route map to get back to Plough Lane will be put in in the coming days and we’ll know what the route map is and how we deal with it.
“We have no idea [how much repair work will cost]. But for a new pitch, which I guess it’s gonna be a new pitch, it is a lot of money. Everybody knows that. You know hybrid pitch like ours was you know, they’re £1million plus.”
The reality is that the club will need to spend quite a lot of money to fix that part of the pitch. Wimbledon are, of course, a fan-owned club that operates and functions with the support of their supporters.
That is why one individual opened a ‘JustGiving’ donation page to help bear some of the costs of repair work. A fan, Graham Stacey, is attempting to raise £50,000 to be donated to the club for the bearing the repair of the flood damage.
This includes the cost of repairing the underground pumps or the possibility of rent money for playing home matches in an alternative stadium.
The fundraiser gained widespread attention, and even Newcastle United showed solidarity by contributing £15,000 towards the cause.
This donation drive has already accumulated over £55,000 and is going strong, with Wimbledon fans showing solidarity and utmost support to ensure that their beloved Plough Lane can return to its original state as soon as possible.
