Commonwealth Games to import sand after deeming Gold Coast's to be 'too fine'

It's the beachside equivalent of selling ice to an Eskimo, but Gold Coast Commonwealth Games organisers have decided to import sand from Brisbane for next year's beach volleyball competition.

The expensive move has to be taken after the International Beach Volleyball Federation (FIVB) deemed the sand at Coolangatta and surrounds as "too fine" for competition.

It means tonnes of coarser sand will have to be trucked in for next year's competition to go ahead.

The news will add an extra cost to an event which Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation (GOLDOC) chief executive Mark Peters had already told a 2016 estimates hearing would cost more than $19 million.

Organisers feel the cost is worth it to hold the beachside sport for the first time at a Commonwealth Games.

Tickets for the beach volleyball competition have already sold out and construction on the 4000-seat show court and precinct is due to start in January.

GOLDOC said negotiations to arrange the sand delivery are underway and the decision by the FIVB isn't uncommon.

"A similar requirement existed for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games competition, where the sand at Copacabana Beach required a coarser mix to comply with the competition standards," a GOLDOC spokesman told AAP.