Hundreds of corner seats were ripped out of SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, and truckloads of freshly harvested turf began the 1,200-mile journey from Washington state on Tuesday as the venue puts the finishing touches on its World Cup facelift.
The $5 billion stadium has also had to bury its NFL-standard artificial turf under a complex layer of sand and flooring material, and remove all corporate sponsor billboards, in the race to be ready for the United States’ first game against Paraguay in less than a month.
«No sleep. We’ll sleep later!» joked Otto Benedict, senior vice president of facilities and campus operations, a day before the venue is officially turned over to FIFA and renamed the brand-neutral “Los Angeles Stadium.”
Because American football fields are narrower and soccer fields require extra space for players to take corner kicks and throw-ins, officials removed 100 seats on each corner to create a playing surface that complies with FIFA rules.
FIFA initially wanted to have fields with dimensions up to 80 yards wide at the corners, but realized that none of the 11 NFL stadiums used could reach that distance, Benedict said.
“I think they’ve had a great partnership with us and all the other NFL stadiums to say, ‘how far can we go?’”
SoFi Stadium already had some “demountable” seats in the corner, which could be removed “LEGO style”, but it was decided to also tear out two additional rows of fixed seats on two corners to create extra space.
The great thing is that fans who purchased seats in those corners will be right on top of the action, Benedict said AFP.
“They wanted at least three meters, and we got it to five meters… Anyone sitting in the corner gets an incredible seat!”
‘Monumental task’
As of Tuesday, the view from the corners was still a vast, sandy rectangle, with no grass in sight.
The grass would be harvested Tuesday evening in the Pacific Northwest, immediately placed in refrigerated trucks and driven directly to the stadium without stopping by teams of drivers working in shifts.
The idea is that the sod “spends the least amount of time in the truck coming here,” Benedict said.
While it may seem tight to start installation just a month after the first kick-off, Benedict pointed to the trial use of a hybrid surface with natural grass and synthetic fibers during last year’s CONCACAF Nations League matches at SoFi Stadium.
“We built this exact field with this exact system that’s in place now last year and tested how that would go,” Benedict said.
“These 30 days give us the right amount of time to get the grass in, let it take root and have FIFA take over the building tomorrow.”
With its transparent roof covering, the stadium has the advantage of greenhouse-like conditions that allow the grass to thrive.
The installation will take two days, after which the grass will benefit from a newly installed irrigation system and grow lights.
Officials have also had to remove all signs with the names of SoFi sponsors — from the stadium banner itself to several bars, lobbies and restaurants.
“It’s a pretty monumental task… Every little place you look, you suddenly see a new name or something that needs to be hidden,” Benedict said.
Published on May 13, 2026
