Towards the end of September, rainfall came in high numbers across the United Kingdom.
For many places, it caused issues with flooding that weren’t ideal but that could be dealt with.
The same couldn’t be said for Cherry Red Records Stadium, however, with the home of AFC Wimbledon suffering what was close to a disaster when drains got backed up and more than 100,000 litres of water flooded the pitch.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, once the water was cleared from the pitch there ended up being a sinkhole that caused the club’s game against Newcastle United in the EFL Cup to be postponed.
Is it just a sign of the times?
What Happened?
At the site where Plough Lane now stands, a greyhound racing venue was opened in 1928. Until 2007, stock car racing and speedway events were also hosted there. When they ended, the greyhound racing was able to carry on for a little over a decade, but in 2017 the course closed in what was described as a ‘crime against happiness’ by the Racing Post.
The stadium was demolished in 2018, with what is now known as the Cherry Red Records Stadium opening in its stead. It was an area that had suffered from flooding many times in the past, leading one campaign group to say that it was ‘totally predictable‘ and ‘just a matter of time’ that it would be flooded again.
Between 10pm on the 22nd of September and 7am the following day, more than 51 millimetres of rain fell in the local area. That is nearly three times the total rainfall that Wimbledon normally sees in all of September. As a result, the drains in the area got backed up and more than 100,000 litres of water flooded the pitch.
This is in spite of the fact that, according to the Environment Agency, the planning of the new ground involved ‘lengthy discussions’ about how the flood risk to the area ‘would be managed’. A Merton Council spokesperson also said that the planing proposal was ‘examined rigorously’, yet still the flooding happened.
A Sinkhole Followed
More than £120,000 was raised in order to try to get the pitch back to its best in the days that followed. The good news was that the water was, over time, pumped out of the stadium. The bad news was that when the pitch was revealed it was discovered that a huge sinkhole was left on the playing surface.
With Newcastle United due to arrive on the Tuesday for an EFL Cup match, it was clear that the game couldn’t take place and so it was rearranged for St James’ Park instead. Similarly, the club’s game against Accrington Stanley was called off when the ability to find a replacement venue proved to be a fruitless endeavour.
@_treyvont AFC Wimbledon’s League Cup match has been cancelled as Plough Lane was flooded due to heavy rain, leaving their pitch in this sorry state… #AFCWimbledon #Wimbledon #Wombles #LeagueTwo #EFL #CarabaoCup #EFLCup #LeagueCup #NewcastleUnited #NUFC ♬ original sound – Theo M-T
Given the fact that the pitch looked more like a bunker you’d find on a golf course than somewhere you could play football, it is hardly surprising that it was decided that games couldn’t be played there. A huge effort was made to get the venue back to normal, in no small part thanks to the more than £100,000 that was donated by more than 2,000 donors, including £15,000 from Saudi Arabian-owned Newcastle United.
It allowed the club to start hosting games again, with plans being put in place to try to install a better flood defence on the pitch moving forward. Quite whether it would stop something similar from happening isn’t clear.
A Sign of Things to Come?
One of the key reasons Wimbledon AFC might not be able to do a huge amount to combat such sinking in the future is that the changing climate is seeing an increase in flash flooding around the world. The United Nations recently recently said that more needed to be done, declaring, “A continuation of current policies is estimated to limit global warming to a maximum of 3.1C (range 1.9-3.8C) over the course of the century”.
In spite of the ravings of lunatics who act as though it is all some grand conspiracy, global warming is real and the world is suffering because of it, with more and more such incidents only likely to happen more often.
Although football will obviously be low down on the list of priorities for those looking to stop global warming from quite literally destroying the planet, it is interesting to see something like this affecting a football team as it might at least lead to a conversation about how to stop it from happening again in the future.
Sadly, the fact that it happened to a League Two side rather than one in the Premier League means that those who wish to buy into conspiracies can ignore it, pointing to the fact that the area has always suffered from flooding incidents. If this is a sign of things to come, the question is: will anything be done about it?