Dartford fc is a traditional club that was formed in 1888 and was one of the founder members of the Kent League for the 1894-95 season. Throughout the years the club has known some seriously hard times, but survived because the fans and the directors over the years contributed massively to keeping the club alive. Chairman Dave Skinner said: “We all had a dream back in 1992 and reformed the club in order to rise from the ashes and that is exactly what we have done”.

After 13 years of sharing ground Dartford moved 2006 into Princes Park, an impressive stadium which is known as the “Eco-Friendly Stadium.” It’s unlike any other ground as it is enclosed and each stand is supported by a wooden tier held up by metal poles. The top of each tier is covered in natural grass. Each side of the ground encompasses a terrace behind which is a spacious walk way all around the ground, supported by the said tiers. In between is a luscious green football pitch with XtraGrass™.

XtraGrass™ is a patented grass reinforcement system manufactured by GreenFields in which natural grass grows through a specially woven synthetic turf fabric. The system combines the best of natural grass and synthetic turf. As a so-called “hybrid system” XtraGrass™ helps to stabilize the pitch and provides added strength and wear characteristics to natural grass. Made of a pre-formed woven synthetic turf fabric it allows natural grass plants to grow through the woven fabric, increasing the strength of the sward in the top 70mm. The synthetic turf fibres are woven into a partially bio-gradable backing, which creates a grid of large uniform voids through which grass plants roots can grow and moisture and nutrients flow.

This design feature allows traditional turf management practices to be carried out, like hollow coring, spiking and verti-draining. The system also allows conventional re-turfing methods; in this case replacing with pre-grown turf that has been grown on woven XtraGrass™.