Turf court: Game on!

At dusk, floodlights lit up an artificial turf. Two teams of five players – all private company employees – took to the field.

It was time for a game of football.

An hour later, the final whistle blew and they went to the food court next to the field for some refreshments.

In a city choking from lack of open spaces and playing fields, this artificial turf – one of 14 commercial turfs in Dhaka – is a breath of fresh air.

The cost of hiring the turf and the food, while could be considered steep, is value for money judging by the faces of those able to escape from the grip of the mundane daily life.

The boom in the artificial turf business means it isn't restricted to Dhaka.

According to people involved in the business, there are also seven such fields in Chattogram, and seven more in Sylhet.

These turfs use a special type of artificial grass made of rubber and it reduces the risk of injury.

There, however, remain concerns about artificial turfs.

How artificial turf business started in the country

In mid-2018, Footy Hags, a football team based in the capital's Bashundhara residential area, built a turf called the NDC Sports Facility for the first time and used it only for their own games. At the end of that year, another artificial turf, JAFF Arena, was launched in Bashundhara on 16 kathas of land for purely commercial purposes. After that, NDC Sports Facility also started renting out their turf.

Entrepreneurs say artificial turfs have gained popularity very quickly due to the disappearance of fields in the cities. Apart from corporate ventures, sports fans have to depend on the artificial turfs for small-scale football tournaments and individual games.

Owner of JAFF Arena Iqbal Hider Galib, a private bank official, tells The Business Standard, "In 2018, a Facebook group called Ground Rakkha Andolan [Save the Grounds Movement] was created. At that time I thought about remedying the crisis of fields.

"I had seen artificial turfs in foreign countries. So, I started an artificial turf with a close friend. In the beginning, I was worried whether the enterprise would be commercially successful, but I was relieved to see a good response from the people."

Iqbal says there were only two turfs in Dhaka city in the first year of his business. "But then many others started similar businesses."

Currently, there are artificial turfs called Alpha Sports in Mohammadpur, DSF in Pilkhana Road, Club Volta in Matikata, DBox Sports Complex, Offside Home of Football in Pallabi, JAFF Arena, ChattoTurf, The Stadium, NDE in Bashundhara, Metroplex Sporting, Kick off Football Ground in Purbachal, Turf Ground in Uttara, and Chef's Table, Folse 9 in 100 Feet Road.

Affluent youths in Ctg start turf business

Wasuf Salam, director of Asian and Duff Group, made the first artificial turf in Bayezid, Chattogram in 2020. He made the 35,000 sq-ft turf only for friends and families though.

Wais Hossain and Awsaf Hossain, sons of Western Marine Group chief Sakhawat Hossain, launched the first commercial turf "ChattoTurf" in Gate 2 area of the port city in November 2021.

Currently, it has a 20,000 sq-ft game zone with two tennis courts, a basketball court, a cricket court, a children's playground, two gaming zones, a table tennis court, pool tables, a paintball station and a restaurant.

Wais Hossain says, "I play football. I took the initiative as there were not many playgrounds in Chattogram and I received a good response. We also have a turf in Dhaka.

"Apart from this, we are building a turf on the 12th floor of Chawkbazar Bali Arcade in the city. Our gaming zone is also being shifted there."

Wais also has a plan to set up artificial turfs in different places across the country, including Sylhet and Rangpur, in the future.

Regarding the popularity of the artificial turfs, Awsaf Hossin says, "In addition to renting out on a daily basis, there are business opportunities related to tournaments. We have many corporate clients here. For example: bankers or industry officials have bookings at certain times on certain days of the week."

AMM Saiful Islam Chowdhury, the head of Sicho Group, built an artificial turf in the Outer Signal area in the port city for his family when the Covid-19 pandemic started in 2020.

In March 2022, Sicho Arena was converted into a commercial turf due to increasing demand for playgrounds in the city. The project is overseen by Ishmam Chowdhury, nephew of Saiful Islam and a director of Sicho Group.

"The project sprawls over an acre of land. There are courts for playing cricket, football, badminton, paintball, table tennis, and basketball. Apart from that, there are zones for VR game  and kids' game," Ishmam says.

Five youths from the reputed Chan Mia Saudagar family in Chattogram's Chandgaon area built the Fortune Sports Arena.

Its founder Symon Sadat tells TBS, "We have set up the entire project on 40 kathas land. We are going to add some more services beyond the conventional turfs.

"Our turf courts are the biggest in Chattogram as 16 people, divided into two teams, can play there. There are multiple courts in the same area. We brought artificial turf from FIFA accredited companies. Required pieces for the cricket courts were imported from Australia. There is also a swimming pool, a dining hall and facilities for children's educational activities."

Besides, there are KB Turf at Bakalia, ACM Turf at Katalganj, Dugout Turf at GEC, and Halishahar Turf at Marine Drive areas in Chattogram.

Victor Mohsin, son of PHP Family Director Mohammed Mohsin, is building a large turf in the city's Bayezid Link Road area. He says, "We are making the largest AstroTurf (synthetic turf) in Chattogram on about 15,800 sq ft area.

"Apart from that, there will be indoor courts for badminton, basketball, and cricket. The entire project spreads over 1 acre of land. The big ground has been made mainly for various school and college events. We plan to launch it next June or July."

Investments and return in turf business

Entrepreneurs did not reveal details about the investment required for the turf business, but they gave an idea about the scopes of expenditure and earnings in such an enterprise. They said the artificial grass used in these courts are imported from China. Apart from that, various iron structures are needed for these playgrounds.

Hiring a football court costs Tk2,000-3,000 for an hour and Tk50,000-60,000 for a day. Hourly rent for a cricket net for one player is Tk500, basketball court for six players Tk1,000, badminton court Tk500, pool table Tk200, paintball court Tk200 per person, and gaming screen for Tk110.

Iqbal Hider Galib, one of the first entrepreneurs in the sector, says, "A high quality turf costs Tk1.5 crore and Tk70-75 lakh if it is set up in an open space. Daily income from the turf amounts to Tk15,000-20,000."

Sicho Arena Director Ishmam Chowdhury says they have invested at least Tk5 crore to complete the project. They earn Tk15,000-20,000 per day from this business on an average and have undertaken plans to expand it.

Symon Sadat, founder of Fortune Sports Arena, also says they have invested Tk5 crore on turfs so far and plan to invest more. Currently, they are getting customers from the nearby Chandgaon residential area day and night.

They expect their daily income to be Tk50,000-60,000 once the whole gaming zone including gym, swimming pool, and fine dining isn opened.