ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — Several weeks into the 2026 FIFA World Cup, playing surfaces across the United States are earning high marks from players and officials alike, including the specially grown grass fields inside domed venues such as Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Shane Hohlbein, whose Braselton-based company Precision Turf is responsible for maintaining the pitch at Houston’s NRG Stadium, said the results have exceeded expectations.
“It’s held up spectacularly thus far,” Hohlbein said. “We’ve received a lot of compliments from FIFA. For the most part, everything has gone according to plan. It’s been a big learning curve.”
Unlike many soccer-specific venues, most American football stadiums do not use natural grass, and domed facilities present additional challenges because grass cannot grow naturally indoors. Advances in turf technology, however, have allowed organizers to cultivate and maintain high-quality playing surfaces, making this World Cup a major test of the concept in North America.
“We test the field twice a day for traction, moisture and soil pH,” Hohlbein said.
Those maintenance requirements differ significantly from open-air stadiums, but the early results have been encouraging. Even so, the work is ongoing as crews manage the wear and tear caused by multiple matches.
“We focus a lot on the 18-yard boxes and the corner areas,” Hohlbein said.
The success of these temporary World Cup pitches raises a broader question: Could similar technology eventually be used to bring natural grass to domed stadiums on a permanent basis?
“Yeah, I think that’s kind of the goal behind all the research — to see if this is going to work long term,” Hohlbein said.
The biggest unknown remains whether artificially grown grass can be sustained for years rather than months. If the answer is yes, venues like Mercedes-Benz Stadium could one day host both NFL and Major League Soccer games on a natural surface.
“Long term, if they could figure out a way to rig the lights up to the roof of the stadium, it could be a possibility,” Hohlbein said.
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