Investing in high level football
Unrefutably, football has become the most popular sport in the world. Clubs are seeing their membership numbers soar. It has come to the point where many children’s daily activity consists of playing football at school during the break, playing football with friends on the municipal pitch after school, and following that kick-about up with a training session at their local club.
Due to these rising numbers, clubs are increasingly struggling to plan training sessions and competitive matches. More to the point, the pitches are enduring a lot of use week in, week out. Natural grass pitches aren’t able to cope without copious amounts of maintenance after each game. The solution to this issue is an artificial turf football field. First introduced in the 1980’s as a failed alternative to grass, artificial pitches have made leaps and bounds in developments to rival their natural counterparts. So, then the question remains: “how much does an artificial turf football field installation cost?”. We’ve put a few facts and figures together to give you a clearer view of the investment and possible returns.
3G artificial football turf fields
At Edel Grass we’ve developed our artificial turf to be resilient, easy to maintain, natural looking and above all, to have the same ball-speed and natural ball movements similar to grass pitches. This means that the defining factors are the costs per pitch, as the on-pitch performances for both are roughly the same.
Of course, It is difficutl to give a specific price. This is due to variables such as the type of pitch, the lifespan of the pitch, the number of hours that the pitch endures per week and the quality and price of maintenance. That being said, there are some ballparks that can be given as an indication. The most important figure, and the figure that makes many clubs question the investment is the initial cost of installation of an artificial football field, which is currently anywhere between $800.000 and $1.000.000 depending on the type of field and the size. Whereas the natural grass counterparts are roughly $650.000, also depending on the type and size.
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However, the main leveraging point for artificial grass pitches are the maintenance cost and the lifespan. The lifespan for an artificial turf field is up to 15 years, if taken care of properly. The following figures concerning the maintenance costs are the results of in-depth research done in 2016. Due to inflation, these number may have increased, though these increases would be applicable to both the artificial turf as the natural grass.
Pros and cons of an artificial turf football field installation
Pros
Water conservation
Edel Grass’ 3G and 4G pitches are incredibly environmentally friendly. Artificial turf football fields don’t require constant watering and irrigation. This allows for the initial investment cost for the installation of an artificial football turf field to be won back largely through saving on water bills.
Environmentally friendly
To elaborate on the aforementioned environmentally friendliness, aside from saving water, Edel Grass’ 4G pitches also eliminate the use of rubber and plastic infill. This ensures that Edel Grass’ artificial 4G turf pitches do not harm the planet.
Injury reduction
Edel Grass sees safety as one of the top priorities. Our pitches have been thoroughly tested and cleared by FIFA. Moreover, we offer our customers the option to install an additional shock pad to limit the risk of injury even further!
Cons
Heat
In hot climates, the turf can get rather hot. This decreases the pitch’s lifespan and is not an ideal playing environment. The issue can be mitigated by simply spraying the field down with water before the training session or match. In a more extreme climate, we’d advise to invest in a subterranean cooling system. This system pumps water under the turf to cool it down. Please not that this option still uses less water than the irrigation of a natural pitch would use.
4G is not yet permitted
As of writing, 4G pitches are not official recognized by FIFA. This means that for now, these specific pitches are not permitted in official league games and cup ties. If your club seeks to have an artificial pitch to play these matches on, we advise investing in a 3G pitch
Installing an artificial football turf field starts with … “hi!”
The impact our systems have on clubs and communities is something we are extremely proud of. Our previous projects show that impact. Feel free to click through! Moreover,
we understand the calculations surrounding the investment for an artificial turf football field are complex, which is why we are always open to questions and available to give advice. All you need to do is say “hi!”
