Xerez CD on alert over Pedro S. Garrido pitch, eye Montecastillo and Costa Ballena as alternatives

The club begins pre-season with doubts over the state of the Pedro S. Garrido pitch. The city council acknowledges irrigation faults and confirms resowing work, with no firm deadline before training starts on 20 July.

Xerez CD are heading into pre-season with an open front off the pitch: the state of the grass at Pedro S. Garrido, the municipal facility where the squad does much of its daily training. With medical tests set for 17 and 18 July and training officially starting on Monday the 20th, the club is concerned about whether the pitch will be in good condition by the time the squad takes to it.

Jerez City Council itself acknowledged in early July that part of the irrigation system at the complex, formerly known as La Juventud, was not working properly, leaving visibly dry patches on the pitch. Deputy mayor Jaime Espinar admitted there were "spots" where maintenance needed reinforcing, though he denied the situation was "catastrophic" and said extra staff had already been brought in to carry out resowing work before pre-season began.

While the council is confident the issue will be resolved in the coming weeks, Xerez CD are not leaving anything to chance ahead of a particularly demanding stretch of pre-season. The club has previously used Costa Ballena as an alternative training venue when the state of the Garrido pitch made it inadvisable, and that option is back on the table.

Montecastillo is now also being considered — a complex with two FIFA-standard pitches built to international regulations, its own training ground, a multi-sport track and a jogging circuit, which in previous seasons has hosted training camps and pre-season sessions for Jerez-based clubs.

Sports delegate Tomás Sampalo explained that the summer break in competition is being used to resow and restore the pitch, and that no scheduled sporting activity at the facility has been suspended. However, the council has not given a firm deadline for completing the work, nor has it confirmed the pitch will be fully restored before 20 July, the date on which Xerez CD are due to start training.

That uncertainty is what keeps the club watching the pitch's progress day by day, with Montecastillo and Costa Ballena as the two venues under consideration so as not to compromise the squad's physical preparation should Pedro S. Garrido fail to offer sufficient guarantees in the early stages of the 2026/27 pre-season.