ATLANTA — Mercedes-Benz Stadium’s makeover into Atlanta Stadium for the 2026 FIFA World Cup is nearly complete.
Channel 2 Action News got a first look on Thursday at the new grass pitch installed for the upcoming soccer tournament.
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The surface is different from the one installed for last summer’s FIFA Club World Cup. Atlanta Stadium Field Director Stuart Wilson says this pitch will be more durable for the players.
“It will be a real top quality playing surface. Undoubtedly. It has to be for this tournament. We’re going to have the best players in the world playing here," Wilson said.
Workers took four days to install the sod, which is a mixture of Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass. But the project was years in the making.
Testing was first done in Tennessee to find the best combination for an indoor environment. The grass was then grown in Colorado and transported to Atlanta. And the stadium’s operations teams started ripping out the artificial turf system back in January to make way for the new system.
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The pitch will only be used for the actual matches, although the training facilities will use a similar grass. The stadium’s roof will stay closed to make sure the grass quality isn’t diminished.
“The humidity that will come into the stadium, if we open the roof, it will put a lot of pressure on the playing surface for disease. So yeah, so we’re just keeping away from that,” Wilson said.
Spain and Cabo Verde players will be the first to give the new pitch a go in their first World Cup match on June 15.
Atlanta will host five group stage matches, a Round of 32 game, Round of 16 game and a semifinal.
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