Football Pitch Sand top-dressing 
Sand top-dressing is an important part of football pitch maintenance, although it can often be neglected due the cost of the material and its application. The maintenance of a suitable and consistent quality playing surface, as well as reduced cancellations, is more readily achieved where adequate quantities of a suitable sand are routinely applied as part of an overall management plan which also includes an appropriate range and application of other maintenance activities.
Make sure a suitable sand is used for top-dressing, certainly not fine builders’ sand, or coarse gritty sand. A sand with a relatively low gradation index (providing a more uniform size) is required to reduce sand particles becoming interpacked, and the particle size range would be between 0.125mm and 0.75mm, with the majority being within the 0.250-0.500mm size. (Baker, S. (2006), ‘Rootzones, Sands and Top Dressing Materials for Sports Turf’, STRI)
On the majority of soil-based pitches an annual input of 10 tonnes of sand per 1,000m² may typically be considered ideal, but this will depend upon existing soil texture, pitch construction and available budget. Depending on the type of equipment and resources available the application process might consist of two heavier renovation and summer applications of 40% of the total annual input, with two lighter autumn and winter applications of 10% of the total application in selective areas: or one major renovation application, with just selective applications over the autumn and winter period. A modern single or twin spinning disc spreader will be capable of spreading 20 tonnes, or so, of sand per hour, at an even rate allowing for minimal working in of the material to the sward upon completion. A general time allowance of 3 to 4 hours might be planned, including tractor loading of sand into the spreader: This type of work will usually be carried out by a specialist contractor, costing in the region of £4,000 - £5,000.
The overall aim would be to build up a suitable surface depth of 20mm, or so, of sand over time. For constructed sand-based pitches and depending upon the type of end of season renovation carried out, it might be that a minimum sand application rate of 4 tonnes per 1,000m² is applied going up to a much higher rate to compensate for material removed during renovation, for example, during any planing operation as part of a fraise mowing. Research has indicated that an application rate of 16 tonnes per 1,000m² for soil-based pitches might be more suitable, although this would be prohibitively expensive in the majority of cases. (Baker, S.W. & Canaway, P.M. (1992), ‘The effect of sand topdressing on the performance of winter games pitches of different construction types. II. Playing quality‘, The Journal of the Sports Turf Research Institute, Vol.68, June 1992, pp62-72).
Where a football pitch is already on a sandy soil, in contrast to many pitches which are on heavy soils with high clay and silt contents, then instead of a pure sand top-dressing the use of a sandy soil might be more appropriate to ensure that the surface does not become unstable from an excess of sand, especially where irrigation facilities are limited or non-existent.
As with all applications of top-dressings it is important to ensure an appropriately specified material is used and it is well incorporated into the sward and surface rootzone layer. The carrying out of mechanical preparation work is essential if the benefits of to-dressing are to be realised.