FIFA Installs Temporary Hybrid Grass Pitches at 2026 World Cup Venues, Many to Be Removed After Tournament

Workers completed installation of new grass at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on May 7, 2026, and at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on May 13, 2026. The pitches must withstand four matches during the June and July tournament while draining water within minutes across climates from Miami to Vancouver to Mexico City.

David Graham, a senior pitch manager for FIFA, said warm-season grasses were suitable for some venues including New York/New Jersey while Mexico City would use cool-season grass because of its elevation.

He said the grasses are selected because of their local climate. Researchers at Michigan State University found that roofed stadiums with limited sunlight performed better with ryegrass-bluegrass blends while hotter open-air venues were better suited to bermudagrass.

The same researchers found that a blend of 84 percent Kentucky bluegrass and 16 percent ryegrass grown on sand could produce tournament-quality sod in about four months.

The upper rootzone is a permeable layer around 10 to 20 centimetres thick made of sand-based soil. Beneath it lies a coarser sand mix for drainage, a binding layer that sometimes contains undersoil heating pipes, a gravel raft, and a sub-base. Some 2026 stadiums are expected to use Permavoid systems, modular plastic layers that store and move water beneath the field.

Grass is seeded densely into sand beds at turf farms, cut repeatedly, and harvested in strips as long as 20 metres. The bermudagrass for MetLife Stadium was transported from Charlotte, North Carolina. Inside the stadium, crews unroll the strips across laser-levelled ground and complete a full pitch in less than 48 hours.

The grass extends at least one metre beyond the playing area on all sides. A specialised machine then stitches millions of synthetic fibres vertically into the rootzone, sometimes as deep as 18 centimetres. At MetLife Stadium the stitching took place about a week after the grass was laid.

FIFA’s pitch guidelines allow natural grass to be reinforced with synthetic fibres. Groundskeepers mow the grass almost daily, usually to between 20 and 30 millimetres. After matches they press divots back into the soil and level damaged areas.

Some stadiums roll mobile grow lights onto the field between games. After the tournament several NFL stadiums that normally use artificial turf are expected to revert to their regular surfaces. Other venues may strip out worn sections or rebuild the field.