By John O’Leary
Setting up your own football pitch can be an awesome experience for you and your friends to experiment with during the summer or springtime when the weather is perfect for playing. You could also take it to the next level and launch a pitch that’s available to both professional and amateur players, positioning your field as a venue for local teams and organisations.
Achieving this might sound complicated, but really, it’s just a matter of having the right amount of space and the necessary components. With that said, here are four essentials to consider before setting up your own professional football pitch:
1. Line Marking Paint
Obviously, without line marking paint, you can’t even draw markings on the field and considering you’re going to be setting up a full-size professional pitch, you’ll be using a lot of paint. However, all line marking paint isn’t the same. Since your goal is to set up a professional pitch, it would be best to opt for the highest-grade marking paint.
2. Goals and Accessories
It goes without saying that you’re going to need to purchase goals, netting, balls, training equipment, bags, and other accessories to make maintaining and playing on the field easier. It may also be a good idea to invest in a few drink containers and/or a concession stand that can accommodate the players and spectators. Selling food on-site serves the dual purpose of keeping people comfortable while also contributing an additional revenue stream to help with pitch maintenance expenses.
3. Deciding Between Real Grass and Artificial Turf
You might be thinking that you could just secure a large field and cut the grass to a desirable length, and although that’s possible, there’ll be much more involved than simple lawn mowing. You’ll also have to clear the entire field of any rocks or other debris, which is no small task when you’re talking about a professional size pitch.
Of course, clearing the field has to be done whether you choose artificial turf or real grass, but it’s more difficult to spot and remove objects in grass versus the alternative of removing all grass and levelling the surface before applying turf. On the other hand, buying enough turf to cover a professional pitch could get expensive, so if budget is a concern and you already have a ride-on lawnmower, it may be better to start with real grass.
4. The Angles and Distances
Finally, now that you have all of the components in line and you’re ready to mark your field, all you have to do is follow a guide on football pitch marking. This should be the easiest step, but you’ll want to take caution not to accidentally measure or mark in the wrong spots. Having the field inspected by a professional before allowing the first teams to play is also a good idea.
Long-Term Maintenance
Once you have your pitch setup and running, it’s important to remember that ongoing maintenance will be a factor. If you’re using real grass, the maintenance could become quite costly, which as mentioned is another reason why artificial turf is widely preferred. However, turf comes with its own maintenance concerns since it will be kept outside on an ongoing basis. Thus, it’s imperative to inspect the pitch turf and markings on a scheduled basis to keep the field in top-notch condition for professional play.