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TIMES ONLINE 27 JUNE
2007
Sheffield Wednesday's
pre-season friendly against Birmingham on August 4 could become a
casualty of the severe flooding in the city. which left
Hillsborough submerged under deep water.
Heavy
rain resulted in the River Don, which flows right past the
Coca-Cola Championship club's ground, bursting its banks leaving
the immediate area without electricity and working telephone lines,
forcing the stadium's closure and leaving some areas of the ground,
including the pitch, under six feet of water.
"We're
waiting for the assistance of the fire service to get the water
pumped away, then we can assess the damage to the playing surface
and the undersoil heating," said a club spokesman.
"We're
maybe looking at the cancellation of the pre-season game against
Birmingham on August 4, but we're still five weeks away from the
first home game of the new season on August 11.
"That
gives us an extra two weeks to get ready, but until the water is
cleared off the pitch we won't know the full extent of the
damage."
"The
water rose as high as Row F in the main stand, probably up to 6ft
and there is probably about 3ft of water still on the pitch which
does not seem to be draining very quickly at all.
"Most
of the damage has occurred in the South Stand at ground level,
closest to the river.
"Flood
waters have gone into the directors' area, the boardroom, the
dressing rooms, the Riverside restaurant and the
kitchens.
"There's a lot of
residue left which now needs to be cleared up. A JCB has cleared
the main car park but inside the building there's still a lot of
work to be done."
Local
rivals Sheffield United were spared any flood damage due to Bramall
Lane being situated across the city.
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