CENTRAL Coast Mariners have moved their upcoming National Youth League fixture away from Pluim Park due to the condition of the fields.

The Lisarow home of Central Coast Football has three fields and had been scheduled to host four Youth League encounters during the opening season of the new competition.

While the remaining three games in December, January and February are still expected to be played there, Mariners officials have moved the October 11 clash.

“After careful examination of the playing surface at Pluim Park, we’ve made the decision to switch Saturday week’s match to Bluetongue Stadium in order to give Pluim Park the best possible chance to recover from its very heavy schedule,” Mariners chairman Lyall Gorman said.

It has been a tough season for the Pluim Park grounds with more than 1060 games played there, up at least 10 per cent on the previous year.

The figures are understood to be 63 times the recommended usage for grounds.

The number of games was made necessary due to wet weather, with rescheduled matches played under lights at Pluim Park on weeknights.

“This is probably the most games we’ve had during a season,” Central Coast Football operations manager Murray Nettheim said. “It was to keep kids on the field rather than washing out whole rounds.”

Central Coast Football director of competitions Greg Marsh said the situation could have been avoided if other grounds in the Gosford area had competition-level lighting.

Marsh said the fields would need about 45,000 litres of water a week to maintain a reasonable surface, but buying and installing underground tanks was costly.