Last updated October 2026
A fenced, floodlit 3G training pitch of 61 x 43 m costs £515,000 to £545,000 excluding VAT on Sport England’s Q4 2025 figures, and a full-size senior pitch £1,185,000 to £1,245,000. The gap within each size is pile height. This page sets out every official figure for clubs, schools, colleges and councils, what they leave out, and what a pitch costs to run and replace.
Pile height moves the price by tens of thousands of pounds; ground conditions and the exclusions can move it by far more.
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
| Pitch | Size | Pile or type | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3G, U9/U10 or training, fenced, floodlit | 61 x 43 m | 40 to 50 mm | £515,000 |
| 3G, U9/U10 or training, fenced, floodlit | 61 x 43 m | 60 to 65 mm | £545,000 |
| 3G, senior football, fenced, floodlit | 106 x 70 m | 40 mm | £1,185,000 |
| 3G, senior football, fenced, floodlit | 106 x 70 m | 50 mm | £1,190,000 |
| 3G, senior football, fenced, floodlit | 106 x 70 m | 60 mm | £1,215,000 |
| 3G, senior football, fenced, floodlit | 106 x 70 m | 65 mm | £1,245,000 |
| Sand-filled, junior or training | not stated | sand-filled | £470,000 |
| Sand-filled, senior | not stated | sand-filled | £1,095,000 |
| Rugby league 3G | not stated | 3G | £1,530,000 |
| Rugby union 3G | not stated | 3G | £1,645,000 |
How much does a 3G pitch cost?
Between about half a million and one and a quarter million pounds excluding VAT, depending on size and pile height. Sport England’s Q4 2025 guidance puts a fenced, floodlit training pitch at £515,000 to £545,000 and a senior football pitch at £1,185,000 to £1,245,000. Small-sided pitches without floodlights cost less, but there is no official figure for them, so they are priced on survey.
How much does pile height add?
About £30,000 on a training pitch and £60,000 on a senior one. Moving from 40 to 50 mm pile to 60 to 65 mm takes a training pitch from £515,000 to £545,000, and the senior pitch climbs from £1,185,000 at 40 mm to £1,245,000 at 65 mm. Choose the pile height your league or governing body asks for, not the cheapest.
How it works
- 01Send a plan and photosThe site, the surface and the date it must reopen.
- 02We check the groundLevels and where the water drains.
- 03Written quoteBuilt around your reopening date.
What is included in Sport England’s figures?
The pitch, fencing, sports lighting, safety run-offs, an allowance for external works, and 6% fees that cover project management, site investigation, planning and similar costs. That makes them complete project budgets for a straightforward site.
What is left out?
Anything that depends on the site: VAT, land, price rises since Q4 2025, poor ground, awkward access, long service runs, statutory biodiversity net gain and regional costs. On a real site at least one of these usually applies, so a ground investigation and an access survey come before a fixed price.
What does planning add to a 3G pitch budget?
A council fee in the hundreds to low thousands of pounds, plus reports such as lighting. In England the fee is £298 per 0.1 hectare of site, capped at £2,578, which is about £894 for the pitch area of a 61 x 43 m training pitch and £2,384 for a senior one. Sport England’s fees allowance already includes planning. The planning permission guide for courts and pitches explains what an application involves.
What does a 3G pitch cost to run?
Plan for yearly maintenance and a replacement reserve from the first season. Woodley Town Council’s 2024 to 2025 plan budgets £2,600 for repairs and maintenance and £2,950 for equipment, and moves £12,000 a year into a reserve so it can replace the surface, at an estimated £120,000, after about 10 years. Bolsover District Council also expects to replace its full-size carpet about every 10 years. See artificial pitch maintenance for the work involved.
Which grants help pay for a 3G pitch?
Part of it, for community projects. The Football Foundation lists 3G pitch, fencing and floodlight grants of up to £25,000, but not for private gain or facilities without community use, and it expects a satisfactory programme of use and enough income to cover maintenance. The guide to funding sports and play surfaces covers the other funders.
Would a MUGA do instead?
For mixed sports on a smaller site, often yes. A fenced, floodlit MUGA is benchmarked at £190,000, less than half the cheapest 3G figure. Compare on MUGA cost.
What’s included in our pitch quote
- Site survey, with ground investigation where listed
- Pitch size, pile height, base build-up and drainage set out line by line
- Excavation, drainage, base, carpet and infill
- Perimeter fencing, gates, goals and lights where the quote lists them
- Line markings for your sports
- A maintenance plan and handover check
What’s not included
- VAT, as its own line
- Planning fees and biodiversity net gain, unless listed
- New electrical supply, unless listed
- Maintenance machinery, unless listed
Illustrative example
From the Sport England rows only; not a real job. A club compares a 40 mm and a 65 mm senior pitch: £1,185,000 against £1,245,000. It also plans a replacement reserve; following Woodley’s approach of setting aside money every year for a 10-year carpet life, the reserve becomes a running cost alongside maintenance from the first season.
Who prices and builds your pitch
Play and Sport Surfaces is a WeDo Property Services service. The team prices your pitch after the survey, and Alex Winser runs the project to handover, and our pitch installers build it.
For pitch types, pile heights and the build itself, see 3G football pitch construction. Every other figure is on sports and playground surfacing costs.
FAQs
How much is a 5-a-side 3G pitch?
There is no official figure; it is priced on survey from the size and spec.
Is a hockey pitch priced the same?
No. Sport England lists sand-filled, sand-dressed and water-based hockey pitches from £945,000 to £1,130,000.
How long does a 3G carpet last?
Councils plan on about 10 years with proper maintenance.
Do prices include floodlights?
Sport England’s do. Ask for lights as a separate line to see their share.
Is VAT included in the 3G figures?
No. All figures exclude VAT.
Sources
- Sport England, Facility Cost Guidance Q4 2025, published Feb 2026
- Planning Portal, Application fees England (Mid Sussex copy), 1 Apr 2025
- Woodley Town Council, 3G Pitch Management Development Plan 2024 to 2025, Apr 2024
- Bolsover District Council, Pitch improvements report, Jul 2020
- Football Foundation, Looking for funding, read Oct 2026