The World Cup is coming up and this will also affect the NFL stadiums. Some of them will be the venues for the soccer matches. But the artificial turf has to be replaced for this.

The 2026 World Cup is approaching. This is also accompanied by the transformation of the eleven NFL stadiums that will host soccer matches in the summer.

NFL field director Nick Pappas has now commented in detail on the conditions on the pitches. Of the eleven selected locations, four already have natural grass.

The remaining selected stadiums are normally equipped with artificial turf. Changes will have to be made in all of them due to the different length and width of the soccer and soccer pitches.

World Cup: These NFL stadiums will have natural grass

The following stadiums are undergoing a transformation from artificial turf to natural grass:

Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington (Seattle Seahawks)

SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California (Los Angeles Rams, Los Angeles Chargers)

AT& T Stadium in Arlington, Texas (Dallas Cowboys)

NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas (Houston Texans)

Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia (Atlanta Falcons)

MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey (New York Giants, New York Jets)

Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts (New England Patriots)

One discussion to which Pappas now provides specific answers is why the natural grass being installed in the seven artificial turf stadiums for the World Cup is not suitable for the NFL.

It was a combination of several reasons. They also worked together with FIFA and drew conclusions from the Club World Cup in 2025.

A serious reason for Pappas is that the World Cup pitches are a short-term solution, as the tournament only lasts two months. However, this does not guarantee long-term match operations.

Nick Pappas: “NFL is at the beginning of the turf process”

In addition, the sports have too different approaches that require a different turf. “Footballers are different athletes than our players,” he added on this point.

So far, we are not yet ready to make a final decision on whether natural grass can be a viable option. It’s all about player safety, and that’s why you have to keep pushing the process.

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In this process, the NFL is only “at the beginning” according to Pappas. Many statistics and measurements from an external provider have to be taken into account in order to provide the players with the best possible surface.

This surface seems to have different challenges in soccer than in soccer. That’s why the conversion measures already underway are inevitable.