A landscaping company is preparing a contract bid to mark soccer fields in their local community. Using our past experience we offered them the following information.

This is what Tru Mark knows that will help provide an appropriate response.
- 2400 yards of 4"line = 7200 linear feet
- 4 soccer fields
- 9 month playing season

Given this information here are some rules of thumb I like to use.
- 300 linear feet per diluted gallon of paint
- Weekly field striping with irrigation and regular mowing. You may be able to do less striping if you use a plant growth regulator like Embark or PrimoMax applying every fourth week (1/2 to 1 ounce per gallon of diluted paint (NO overlapping)

If you locate a local paint distributor in your area they will likely offer a bulk latex formulation that will be diluted 1:1 (One 5-gallon pail produces 10 gallons of diluted paint). These paint formulations are going to run around $40-$50 per pail, possibly less with bulk order (pallet quantity). A better quality paint such as our SwitchBack Ground Boss field marking paint formulation will achieve good coverage on a 2 or even 3 to 1 dilution ratio. (This can very if the grass is really growing with a lot of mowing and irrigation.) This product is currently $64.50 per pail (not delivered, so you should add probably $12.00 per pail). One pallet 24 5-gallon pails is going to be about $1,836.00 delivered.

7200 linear feet per week/300 linear feet per diluted gallon/3 (2:1 dilution ratio) = 8 gallons of paint per week (for 4 fields) x 36 weeks = 288 gallons / 5 gallons per pail = 58 pails per 9 months

Now for field marking equipment.
- We can offer two different technologies, airless 12-volt battery operation diaphragm pump technology and gasoline powered airless compressor, both in walk behind units for increase accuracy.
- The Model E-100 walk-behind field marker uses a Group 24 deep cycle marine battery supplied the customer ($85.00) that will more than support striping 4 soccer fields with one battery charge.This unit is going to run about $100-200 a year in replacement parts (primarily tips, pump parts (value kit), or a Field Kit). Plan on initial purchase cost Field Kit, battery, and delivery of $1,900.00.

- The Titan Speeflo 850 walk-behind gasoline powered field marker provides more versatility where the unit can apply diluted as well as undiluted paints (for synthetic turf and pavement striping). We are currently prototyping a paint shoe assembly similar to the Model E-100 that guarantees a uniform and crisp line no matter the terrain. This new accessory is likely going to cost in the $170.00 range. This unit will likely run $200-400 in replacement parts (primarily tips and pump rebuild). Expect delivery cost near $1,900.00.

Personally I think the key cost driver is how often do they expect you to mark the fields (man-hours). We have soccer association volunteer customers that can stripe a full sized soccer field in 20 minutes. However, the paint is already mixed and brought to a quick reload location. You'll have a 10-20 minute clean/rinse process after each striping operation, no matter which machine you choose. If manpower is an issue and access to water is a problem then you might consider our SwitchBack Cheap Seats Ready-to-Use (RTU) field marking paint formulation, open the pail, remix if necessary, and start striping.

The other thing, whose is responsible for field lay out, staking and stringing the field? Many organizations will move the fields around to reduce wear in front of goals. Our desktop soccer field layout tool will drastically reduce your layout and staking time. You should be able to layout a field in 20 minutes or less using only one person. Our different marking whisker solutions allow you to find field intersections very quickly, especially if you have to pull string on a regular basis (check out our Tru Mark string winders which will save time onsite using a cordless drill).

Let us know if you would like a copy of this Soccer Field Layout Tool MS Excel spreadsheet template.