Are you planning to develop a sports ground? If Yes, then read along. In this series of blogs, we will share a structured approach for the construction of a sports ground. This approach will help you in assigning your resources where they are needed most.
Lets first understand the different heads

1. Land
2. Sub-base, drainage and irrigation
3. Synthetic Surface (Synthetic Grass, Acrylic Paints , PU , PVC , Vinyl , Athletic Track , EPDM etc)
4. Fencing, Lighting and Seating
5. Maintenance and other recurring costs

Land

A suitable location is desirable for a successful business model be it pay n play or be it a facility meant for a school, college, university , club , business park or a residential complex. While in many of these models there is no way to avoid capital investment in land . But, as far as possible one should go for a leased land . Lease plan changes a Capital expenditure to operations expenditure.

Sub-Base, Drainage and Irrigation

Good sub-base , drainage and irrigation system are bedrock of any good sporting system. One should understand that there is no one size fits all solution. There are multiple options available for each of the three elements i.e. sub-base, drainage and irrigation .Lets examine each of these .
a. Sub- Base
i. Bituminous
ii. Cement Concrete
iii. Loose Bound
While loose bound is the most economical solution but parameters such as rain, temperature, usage and area should be considered while taking a final call.
b. Drainage
i. Sub-soil drainage

ii. Peripheral drainage
Avoid sub-soil drainage if you are on a tight budget. Moreover, consider the average and maximum rainfall in your area before taking a call. Certain type of sub-bases do not require sub-soil drainage, keep this factor in mind. Be sure to check with your contractor that the sub-soil drainage is not over-designed.
Peripheral drainage can be given on one side to save the cost.
c. Irrigation

Irrigation systems can be manual or automatic. Even automatic irrigation systems come in different forms such as pop-up sprinklers, rain-guns to name a few. Do check with your sports consultant before you finalize the irrigation system.

Synthetic surfaces

Synthetic surfaces come in many forms such as Synthetic Grass, Acrylic Paints, PU , PVC , Vinyl , Athletic Track , EPDM etc.
a. As a first step chose the most appropriate surface for your playing surface. Some of the mappings are provided below.
b. Once the type of surface has been finalized, one should keep in mind the traffic and the usage of the system. The synthetic surface is the layer which faces the vagaries of nature be it weather, pests or other organic material. Moreover, it also faces the footfall or the traffic of the play. Based on the traffic, usage and weather one should decide the suitable product. It is not a good strategy to choose cheaper products in order to save a few bucks.
c. There are many counterfeit products which are available in the market. Always buy authentic products from certified sellers.
d. If the expected traffic is less and the weather conditions are conducive, one can explore the option of downgrading the specifications. But this will have an impact on the life and the performance of the system.

Fencing and Seating

Fencing is required in almost all the sports ground. Fencing is done to
a. Segregate the area of the play
b. To keep the ball in the area of the play
In a pay and play kind of model fencing and lighting can take almost 30 to 40 % of the total budget. While grounds such as basketball, volleyball can be developed without fencing but its is recommended to have it.

Lighting cost has two components – one time investment and recurring cost in terms of electricity consumption. Both of these costs should be kept in mind.

Seating can be in the form of movable bleachers, plastic seats, stage and steps or simple mound in the case of cricket.

Maintenance and recurring cost

All grounds need maintenance, and this should be included in the cost model. Proper maintenance increases the life of the ground. Trained staff is required for the running and upkeeping of the ground. Many a times ground owners ignore this for their peril. This mistake should be avoided.

We hope you liked this blog . In case you have further questions please do write to me at deo.saurabh@purpleseas.com .
In next blog we will learn about how to develop sports ground in phases ; Be it a full size football ground, 6 a side futsal ground , basketball court or badminton court.

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