Soccer Field Covers: Types, Sizes & Cost Guide
Soccer field covers run from about $1,200 for a weighted mesh section that protects a goal mouth or team area to roughly $16,000 to $20,000 for a stock tarp large enough to blanket a full-size field. The spread is that wide because "field cover" describes three different products: waterproof rain tarps, weighted mesh covers for high-traffic strips, and breathable winter growth blankets. Buy the wrong one and you either overspend by thousands or watch the goal mouths turn to mud anyway.
Soccer adds a complication football never has to deal with: there is no single regulation field size. A high school field can be 25 yards shorter and narrower than the field at the club complex across town, so covers are sized to your touchlines, not pulled from a standard chart. This guide breaks down the three cover types, the dimensions to order against at every level from high school to pro, and real published pricing, so you can put a defensible number in a budget request before you ever ask for a quote.
The three products sold as soccer field covers, each with a different job.
Which Soccer Field Cover Do You Need?
Match the cover to the problem you are solving: full-field rain tarps keep the surface dry and playable for match day, weighted mesh covers protect the strips of turf that wear out first, and winter growth blankets keep natural grass alive through the cold months. The three products are not interchangeable, and most complexes eventually own more than one.
| Type | Job | Material | When it is on the field |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full-field rain tarp | Keep the surface dry and playable | Waterproof woven poly or vinyl | Hours to days before matches |
| Weighted mesh cover | Protect goal mouths, team areas, and walkways; carry branding | Weighted vinyl mesh or poly blanket | Match day through the season |
| Winter growth blanket | Hold soil heat, prevent winterkill | Breathable spun or woven fabric | December through March |
A full-field rain tarp is a waterproof sheet deployed a few hours to a few days ahead of weather, then pulled as soon as the sky clears. Because soccer fields vary so much in size, stock tarps rarely fit well; custom full-field rain tarps like FieldCover™ are built to order for multi-sport athletic complexes and cut to your exact touchline and goal-line dimensions, so the same construction that protects a stadium field covers a 120 by 75 yard soccer field without a seam in the wrong place.
Weighted mesh covers solve a different problem: concentrated wear. Goal mouths, the team areas along the touchline, and the walkways where spectators cross take more foot traffic in a season than the center circle takes in three. Mesh sideline and high-traffic covers like GatorMesh® use a drainage weave that lets rain pass straight through and weighted edges that hold the section flat without stakes, which is why they can stay down from warmups through the final whistle, week after week.
Winter growth blankets are the third category and the only one backed by hard agronomic data. They are breathable fabrics left on natural grass from roughly December through March to hold soil heat, and they matter most for cool-season fields that need to be playable for spring season openers.
Some large facilities also install motorized roller systems that deploy and retract a cover mechanically. That is a different purchase in a different budget class, and we compare those systems in our buyer's guide to automated field protection covers.
Soccer Field Dimensions & Cover Sizing
There is no standard soccer field, so start with your marked dimensions: high school fields run 100 to 120 yards long by 55 to 80 yards wide, NCAA fields 115 to 120 by 70 to 75, and professional fields 110 to 120 by 70 to 80. That range means a full-field cover can be anywhere from about 50,000 to 95,000 square feet, and every quote starts with the number you measure.
| Level | Length | Width | Example footprint |
|---|---|---|---|
| High school (NFHS) | 100-120 yd (300-360 ft) | 55-80 yd (165-240 ft) | 110 × 65 yd = 64,350 sqft |
| College (NCAA) | 115-120 yd (345-360 ft) | 70-75 yd (210-225 ft) | 120 × 75 yd = 81,000 sqft |
| Professional | 110-120 yd (330-360 ft) | 70-80 yd (210-240 ft) | 120 × 75 yd = 81,000 sqft |
The professional range tracks IFAB's Law 1, which technically allows anything from 100 to 130 yards long and 50 to 100 yards wide but narrows to roughly 110 to 120 yards by 70 to 82 yards for international matches. American high school fields sit at the small end because many share a footprint with a football field, which is only 160 feet wide.
Order the cover larger than the marked field. Adding about 10 feet beyond each touchline and goal line protects the apron, the strip where players warm up, officials run, and water collects first. On a 110 by 65 yard high school field, that apron rule turns a 330 by 195 foot marked area into a 350 by 215 foot cover, about 75,250 square feet.
Size the cover to the marked field plus about 10 feet of apron beyond every line.
Use this worksheet before you request any quote:
- Measure the marked field, goal line to goal line and touchline to touchline, at the field itself rather than from a site plan. Painted lines drift from original drawings more often than facilities managers expect.
- Add the apron: 10 feet beyond every line for full-field covers.
- Multiply for square footage. Length in feet times width in feet is the number every price conversation is built on.
- Decide full coverage versus sections. Two goal-mouth sections and two team-area runs of 75 to 100 feet solve most wear problems for a fraction of full-field cost.
- Note your surface. Natural grass and synthetic turf take different anchoring, which is the next section.
Grass vs Synthetic Turf: Anchoring & Warranty
On synthetic turf, use weighted covers only, never stakes: a stake driven through the turf backing typically voids the field's warranty the moment it punctures the carpet. Weighted, turf-safe anchoring means sand- or chain-filled edges plus sandbags through the grommets, and it protects a surface that cost your program somewhere between $750,000 and $1.5 million to install.
Natural grass is more forgiving. Stakes through grommets are acceptable on grass, though weighted edges still save your crew the hardware step on every deployment and leave nothing behind for a mower to find. Grommets every 36 inches are the spacing standard that keeps a weighted section flat in wind; wider spacing invites billowing and edge lift.
Dwell time is the spec that separates the constructions. A sealed waterproof tarp left on natural grass for more than two or three days traps heat and smothers the turf, so rain tarps come off as soon as weather clears. For anything staying down longer, a breathable weave is the right call, which is why weighted mesh covers such as GatorMesh® drainage-mesh covers can protect a goal mouth or team area for a full season: rain drains through to the root zone instead of pooling where players stand.
What Do Soccer Field Covers Cost?
Published pricing for weighted mesh covers runs $1,183 to $3,525 per section depending on length, stock full-field poly tarps run about $0.20 to $0.25 per square foot, and custom-printed full-field covers are quoted to your exact dimensions. Four drivers move the number: total square footage, material weight, printing, and the anchoring build.
BigSigns publishes section pricing for GatorMesh® weighted covers, the drainage-mesh construction used for sideline and high-traffic protection on football and multi-sport fields alike. These prices include the weighted edges, grommets every 36 inches, and custom sizing:
| Section length | Vinyl mesh (13 colors, logos available) | 15 oz poly blanket style (gray only) |
|---|---|---|
| 50' | $1,183 | $1,713 |
| 75' | $1,758 | $2,568 |
| 100' | $2,355 | $3,415 |
| 125' | $2,950 | $4,198 |
| 150' | $3,525 | $5,008 |
Stock woven poly rain tarps in the 12-mil range run about $0.20 to $0.25 per square foot in national tarp suppliers' published catalogs. At soccer dimensions that works out to roughly $12,900 to $16,100 for a 110 by 65 yard high school field and $16,200 to $20,250 for a full 120 by 75 yard college or pro footprint. Custom-printed FieldCover™ full-field tarps are quoted to your measured dimensions rather than priced per square foot, with printing priced inside the quote, and the mockup and quote are free.
Winter growth blankets price by area. University of Kentucky turfgrass extension prices winter cover fabrics at roughly $920 to $5,663 per acre, and soccer fields run about 1.5 to 1.9 acres, so budget $1,400 to $10,500 per field depending on fabric.
Three worked examples make the budget math concrete. Protecting both goal mouths with 50-foot vinyl mesh sections costs about $2,366 at published pricing. Adding 100-foot team-area runs on both touchlines brings the program to roughly $7,076. A full-field rain tarp on top of that lands most clubs in the $20,000 to $27,000 range all-in, which is why programs phase the purchase: high-traffic sections first, because that is where the turf damage and the visible branding both live.
We published the same cost framework for football in our football field covers cost guide, and the section pricing is identical because the construction is identical; only the field geometry changes. To match a configuration to your field before requesting numbers, browse the field tarps and sideline covers collection.
Protect the Field, Show the Brand
A custom-printed cover does two jobs on one budget line: it protects the turf and puts your club crest, school wordmark, or sponsor logos on the most photographed strips of the facility. Every competitor in this category sells plain gray or green protection; printed covers are the difference between equipment and inventory.
The printing capability is not an add-on gimmick. Vinyl mesh covers print in full color across 13 standard base colors, so a 100-foot team-area section in front of your bleachers can carry a crest at each end and two sponsor panels between them. Tournament hosts take it further: a printed full-field tarp deployed between sessions turns tens of thousands of square feet into branding that every drone shot and bleacher photo picks up.
Sponsor placement changes the budget conversation with your athletic director or club board. A team-area cover that costs $2,355 at published pricing and carries two season sponsors has a plausible path to paying for itself, the same math youth clubs already run on windscreens and A-frames. Custom team branding printing is a standard part of the quote, and the free mockup shows the artwork on the actual product before you commit.
Printed covers protect the turf and carry club and sponsor branding at the same time.
Buying Checklist: How to Order a Soccer Field Cover
Run these seven checks before you sign a purchase order. They cover the specification mistakes that generate most re-orders and warranty claims.
- Measure the actual field, then add the apron. Goal line to goal line, touchline to touchline, plus about 10 feet past every line. Soccer fields vary too much to order from a chart.
- Match anchoring to your surface. Synthetic turf means weighted covers and ballast only; stakes void turf warranties. Natural grass can take stakes, but weighted edges skip the hardware step.
- Choose drainage or waterproofing deliberately. Mesh drains through and suits anything left down more than a couple of days; sealed tarps are for short-duration rain protection only.
- Confirm grommet spacing. Every 36 inches is the standard that keeps a cover flat in wind.
- Claim the branding real estate. If the section faces bleachers or cameras, printed covers turn a protection line item into sponsor inventory.
- Order against your calendar. Custom-printed covers are produced to order, so place fall-season orders four to six weeks before your first home match, not the week of. Covers ship nationwide by freight, whether your program is in Texas, Ohio, Florida, or California.
- Plan storage before delivery. A folded 100-foot section needs a dry rack or bin; a full-field tarp needs a roller or a dedicated fold-and-carry crew plan.
The ordering flow itself is short: send your measurements and artwork, review the free mockup and quote, approve, and production starts. Most of the lead time is printing and freight, which is why the four-to-six-week buffer matters.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How much do soccer field covers cost?
2. What size cover do I need for a soccer field?
3. Can soccer field covers be printed with our club or school branding?
4. Are field covers safe for synthetic turf?
5. Do I need a rain tarp or a winter growth blanket?
6. How are soccer field covers anchored in wind?
7. Do you ship soccer field covers nationwide?
8. Can one cover serve both a football and a soccer field?
9. How long do soccer field covers last, and how are they stored?
Size It Once, Protect It for Seasons
The clubs that get covers right measure in the off-season and order before the schedule forces the decision. If you are weighing goal-mouth sections against a full-field tarp, or trying to fit a cover to an odd-sized field, BigSigns.com offers free design consultation and custom mockups that show your branding on the actual product. Call 800.790.7611 or request a quote online, and a project specialist will spec sizes, materials, and printing for your field.
