For a few weeks in the summer of 2026, a handful of NFL stadiums will become the center of the soccer world.
A small number of NFL stadiums—venues built for a different sport, different dimensions and a different audience—are being transformed into match venues for the FIFA World Cup 2026, the largest soccer tournament on earth.
Working alongside its specialized companies and installation partners, TenCate is contributing to the complex conversion of NFL facilities into environments that must meet the highest standards for performance, safety and operational durability under unprecedented global attention.
Hosting the FIFA World Cup requires far more than staging matches. Stadiums undergo extensive modifications, like field system conversions, infrastructure adjustments, broadcast accommodations and security enhancements, executed within tightly coordinated timelines.
Within this broader scope, TenCate companies have played a critical role in delivering the synthetic turf perimeter systems that surround natural grass playing surfaces. The TenCate synthetic turf systems are engineered to provide increased resiliency in high-traffic zones while maintaining visual and performance continuity with the adjacent field of play.
“The FIFA World Cup represents a massive operational undertaking, with stadiums undergoing continual transformation to meet the demands of the global game,” said Sydney Stahlbaum, vice president of marketing, TenCate Americas. “Our teams are working within highly coordinated construction environments to deliver systems that not only perform at the highest level, but also support the intensity of tournament operations. It’s a role that requires precision, experience and complete alignment with our partners on the ground.”
Installation efforts are executed within highly synchronized construction schedules, where multiple trades and specialists operate in parallel. TenCate’s installation teams coordinated closely with stadium operators and project partners to deliver precise, on-time installations under demanding conditions.
Hellas Construction, a TenCate company, completed synthetic turf run-off areas at both SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, California and AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. These surrounds integrate seamlessly with the natural grass playing surface and this approach supports both athlete safety and stadium operations, ensuring that areas subjected to repeated use—from player warm-ups to sideline activity and broadcast movement—maintain consistent performance throughout the tournament.
These incredible projects underscore Hellas’s long-standing relationships with both facilities.
TenCate’s vertically integrated model—spanning research, manufacturing and installation—enables the company to deliver solutions tailored to the unique demands of global events. From material engineering to on-site execution, this expertise is essential in environments where timelines are fixed and performance expectations are absolute.
With more than 24,500 fields installed globally and more than 600 FIFA-certified installations around the world, TenCate supports soccer infrastructure ranging from community fields to elite training environments across more than 100 countries.
