Blundstone Arena in Tasmania is one of Australia’s major cricket and AFL grounds located in Bellerive, a suburb of Hobart, and has spectacular views over the Derwent River. It’s the only venue in Tasmania which hosts international cricket matches and has a spectator capacity of 20,000.

At the start of the year, Marcus Pamplin, Head Curator at Blundstone Arena, took delivery of a Toro^® Reelmaster^® 5010-H Hybrid mower, the sports fields and grounds industry’s first fairway mower with a true hybrid drive system.

The 5010-H uses two sources of energy storage and delivery: a 24.8 hp Kubota diesel engine, along with 48-volt rechargeable batteries and electric motors. Through the patented PowerMatch™ system, the mower optimises these two energy sources so that no power is wasted and customers achieve excellent fuel efficiency.

“We selected the Hybrid Reelmaster 5010-H for a number of reasons,” said Pamplin: “It appealed to us as Blundstone Arena is located in a built up residential area and reducing noise coming from the grounds is very important.

“We cut the ground every day during Sheffield Shield and Test matches, and on days leading up to any scheduled match, so fuel savings was another major factor that made us consider this mower, from both an environmental as well as budget perspective.

“The mower is easy to maintain, clean and adjust, and has less grease points to look after. Hence, we also save time in mower maintenance,” he said.

Pamplin and his team are delighted with the 5010-H performance: “The grooming heads allow regular thinning of the grass surface to reduce thatch. The groomers regularly clean debris in the canopy, and the brooms on the rollers finish off the surface superbly in damp conditions and leave no visible grass debris.

“The machine has a beautiful smooth cut. As the mower is of a lighter weight, we hardly leave a footprint. It’s great to use when the surface is softer in winter. This is a huge advantage when cutting, as it leaves an even cut and less compaction.”

Pamplin also commented on the mower’s InfoCenter™ LCD display that is very easy to operate. This makes maintenance and diagnostics quicker and easier, and provides system information alerts, service reminders, diagnostics, fault codes and vehicle and cutting unit adjustments that are easy to see and understand.

Blundstone Arena further has a Toro Greensmaster^® Flex™ 2100 in use for cricket preparation (another favorite of Pamplin).

With great parts service and advice from local Tasmanian dealer, Pellows Saws & Mowers, Marcus Pamplin could not be more pleased with his Toro mowers.