FRISCO, Texas (AP) — No, there was no storm at Sweden’s base camp during the World Cup. It’s just a house renovation.
The Swedes were surprised to see shredded metal and other destroyed construction materials on one side of Toyota Stadium, home of MLS team FC Dallas, during Wednesday night’s practice.
“I thought, ‘What happened?’ As far as I know, there was no storm,” Swedish midfielder Besfold Zeneli told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet.
The scheduled work will take place in the early hours of the day before the Swedish session and is part of a multi-year renovation project at the stadium.
The area has been cordoned off since Sweden arrived in the United States in early June and before it began using the stadium as a base camp. The construction does not affect the pitch or the facilities used by the team in Frisco, Texas, about 30 miles north of downtown Dallas.
Still, the highly visible destruction of the latest installment surprised some players who arrived for training ahead of the match. Group F final match against Japan.
FC Dallas said in a statement Thursday that the work was “part of a planned and controlled demolition operation within an area where construction is currently taking place. The work was carried out using pull-down demolition methods and no explosives were used.”
There were no injuries.
The renovation project will be carried out in phases, starting in early 2025 and expected to be fully completed before the start of the 2028 MLS season. FC Dallas continues to play regular season games there during renovations.
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