EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Workers have begun installing a turf field at MetLife Stadium, which will host eight World Cup matches, including the July 19 final.
FIFA is using two types of surfaces in the expanded 48-nation, 104-game tournament that begins June 12 and will be held at 11 venues in the United States, three in Mexico and two in Canada.
Bermuda grass is used for warm-season venues: East Rutherford, New Jersey. Guadalajara, Mexico. Kansas City, Missouri. Miami Gardens, Florida. Monterrey, Mexico. and Santa Clara, California
Perennial rye mixed with Kentucky bluegrass will be used in cool season and indoor venues, FIFA announced. Atlanta; Foxborough, Massachusetts; Houston. Inglewood, California. Mexico City; Philadelphia; Seattle; Toronto; and Vancouver, British Columbia.
According to FIFA, turf for stadiums and training grounds began being produced and harvested about 10 months ago at 10 turf farms in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
Work to install about 600 rolls of North Carolina-grown grass at MetLife began Wednesday and is targeted to be completed late Thursday. We laid down 18 to 24 inches of sand with Permavoid, a permeable fabric, then a vacuum layer and aeration layer, then more sand, and finally grass. Artificial stitching is used between the rolls.
MetLife, home to the NFL’s New York Giants and Jets, typically uses artificial turf surfaces. In addition, 1,740 corner seats removed To make room for a soccer field and a run-up area for corner kicks. The stadium’s sports capacity record was 83,367 for a Jets-Giants game in October 2023.
FIFA requires a pitch of 75 x 115 yards (68 x 105 meters) for World Cup matches, but that requirement was ignored by some venues during the 1994 U.S. tournament.
FIFA senior pitch manager David Graham said: “Last night we started the game around 4 or 5 o’clock.” “We had 14 trucks on site yesterday. We finished around 2 a.m. and another 13 trucks continued at 11 this morning. We’re on schedule at the moment. There were some delays last night due to weather, but otherwise things are going well.”
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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
