HOW TO CHOOSE A SPORTS INFRASTRUCTURE CONTRACTOR

1. Will you survey the site before quoting? A firm price needs someone to look at the soil, levels, drainage, access and power. A desk estimate is fine for budgeting; it is not a quote.
2. Who does the civil work? Ask whether the base, drainage, surfacing, lighting and fencing are done under one contract or split between subcontractors — and who is responsible if something goes wrong at the joins.
3. What exactly is the surface product? Ask for the manufacturer, product name and specification: for turf, the pile height, fibre type and infill; for courts, the number and type of coats.
4. How will the facility drain? Ask for the drainage design — the base type and depth, the slope, and where the water goes when it leaves the site.
5. What warranty applies, and to what? Separate the surface warranty, the lighting warranty and the contractor’s own warranty on civil and base work.
6. What happens after handover? Ask what maintenance the facility needs, whether the contractor offers an Annual Maintenance Contract and how quickly they respond to problems.
7. What are the timeline and payment plan? Get the working days from site readiness to handover, and payment milestones tied to visible stages of work.

Write the answers down. A contractor who answers clearly and in writing is easier to hold to account later than one who only answers on the phone.

A lump sum tells you very little. A quote you can compare — and enforce — lists each part of the job with quantities and specifications:

Check the exclusions as carefully as the inclusions: buildings, seating, the power connection, approvals, site clearance and drainage beyond the standard design are commonly priced separately. For reference, our FAQ lists what our own quotations typically cover — civil and base work, synthetic surface supply and installation, LED floodlighting, perimeter fencing and ball-stop nets, and project management — with add-ons such as seating, scoreboards and drainage upgrades quoted separately.

Other warning signs: a price far below every other quote with no explanation; pressure to sign or pay quickly; a large advance not linked to work on site; no written contract; and warranties that are only verbal. If one quote is much cheaper, ask what has been left out — a thinner base, no shock pad, fewer lights or lower fences can each explain the gap.

Line the quotes up in a simple table — one row per item from the list above — before you look at the totals. Then check:

• Same area, measured the same way. A quote for the play area and another for the whole plot are not comparable.
• Same specification. Product, base depth, infill, shock pad, number of light poles, fence height and net coverage.
• Same scope. Who handles site clearance, drainage outlets, the power connection and approvals?
• Same terms. Warranty, AMC, timeline, payment milestones — and GST. Our calculator’s estimates include GST; check whether each quote does.

An independent sense-check helps too. Our cost calculator prices a football turf at ₹420 per sq.ft, so a 5,000 sq.ft turf works out to 5,000 × ₹420 = ₹21.0L, shown as an indicative range of ₹18.9L to ₹26.3L. That is not a quote — a site survey sets the real figure — but if a quote for the same area lands well outside that range, ask what explains the difference.

Finally, weigh the cost over the facility’s life, not just the build price. A well-maintained synthetic turf lasts around 8 to 12 years; a cheaper build that drains poorly or needs resurfacing early can cost more in the end. Our football turf cost guide explains what moves a turf price.

If you would like CP Sports to be one of the quotes you compare, our process starts with a free site survey, followed by CAD drawings for drainage, lighting and surface layers, and an itemised quote — with civil work, surfacing, lighting, fencing and drainage under one contract.