The exact cost of materials will vary depending upon a number of factors such as
- availability;
- whether they are specialist or general materials;
- the quality of the material, especially top-dressings;
- location of the site for delivery from the supplier;
- quantity of materials being purchased - discounts for large quantities.
If we take the maintenance calendar as a guide, the following costs might be incurred (subject to the weather and desired pitch quality), for a pitch with an area of 6,600 m²:
| Material | Quantity and unit cost | Total cost (Spring 2004) |
| Renovation Materials: | ||
| Top-dressing | say 30 tonnes required @ £25 per tonne | £ 750 |
| Grass Seed | Applied @ 17 g/m² = 4½ x 25kg bags; @ £90 per bag | £ 405 |
| Fertiliser | Applied @ 25 g/m² = 6½ x 25kg bags; @ £16 per bag | £ 104 |
| Other Materials | ||
| Top-dressing for remainder of year | say 10 tonnes @ £25 per tonne | £ 250 |
| Fertiliser | Applied @ 25 g/m² = 6½ x 25kg bags; @ £16 per bag | £ 104 |
| Diesel for machines | say (80p per litre) £3.63 gallon x 30 gallons | £ 109 |
| Line marking material | Say £8 per full overmark x 37 occasions | £ 296 |
| Herbicides | £115 per application for the whole pitch | £ 115 |
| Irrigation water supply | If a m³ (220 gallons) of water costs say, 85p; and if we say the equivalent of 6mm (¼") is applied over the whole pitch over the summer, for say 16 weeks, then 40m³ per week x 16 weeks = 640m³. | £ 544 |
| Total | £ 2,677 |
It is quite easy to see why top-dressing and irrigation can be the first items to be reduced in any budget cuts.