Houston is officially 500 days from hosting its first FIFA World Cup in the 95 years of the globe’s biggest tournament.
Representatives of the FIFA World Cup 26 Houston Host Committee held a joint press conference Monday to celebrate that milestone, and provided key updates on developments necessary for the events to run smoothly.
One of the most important endeavors for the actual competition is the fields the soccer teams will be playing on. Houston will hold seven of the 104 games of the tournament, starting with a group stage match June 14 and concluding with a Round of 16 match July 4. All seven will take place at NRG Stadium. For that to happen, the venue’s artificial turf that it typically uses for Houston Texans games will have to be replaced with natural grass up to FIFA standards.
Host committee president Chris Canetti said the preparation for that replacement is going “extremely well” and that the plan for how it will take place will be finalized in the coming months. Canetti said that the turf will be replaced in May 2026, soon after the conclusion of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, which will take place on its normal dates.
“First and foremost, you have to play on grass,” Canetti said. “We have to put together a plan to be able to grow grass on the highest quality standard you can imagine to exist in this facility for over 40 days. So there’s lots of complications that go along with that, lots of leading experts in the field. I’ve been working on that over the course of the last several years, and we’re at the finish line of concluding our plans and awarding bids for this process to take place.”
Another necessary renovation must be done to NRG for the matches, though not on the playing surface. The stadium will need to undergo “bowl modifications” this summer to expand the field area to meet FIFA standards. That expansion will come by removing seats in the corners of the stadium. Canetti said that process will take place this summer.
“FIFA has very, very strict requirements in terms of the space on the field level and the pitch area,” Canetti said. “The way our corners kind of curve in here at the stadium, we don’t have the space necessary. So, we need to carve out corners, if you will, and create the width and the space on the pitch area to meet those standards.”
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While the city is looking forward to the competition commencing in 500 days, the host committee is also using past tragedies to inform their safety and security procedures. Harris County Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia said the attacks in New Orleans near the Sugar Bowl earlier this month and in Germany at a Christmas market in December have confirmed security as “top of mind” for the committee’s planning.
Garcia thanked Canetti for placing a former Houston Police Department and SWAT commander in charge of security for the competition and said that together, they are going to do everything possible to ensure safety for guests and residents as they experience the World Cup.
“I give it full confidence that our FIFA committee has put in the resources to fully assess threats and to coordinate with local agencies, whether it’s a state, county or federal levels to make sure we are taking all necessary steps to prevent any incidents and to be able to react quickly to any that may occur,” Garcia said.
See here for some background. Still no definitive word about the flying taxis, sadly. I’m very curious to see what the stadium changes will look like – whatever they are, they will be undone afterwards. I’m excited to have the games here, and unfortunately more than a little apprehensive about the security risks we’ll face while they are. This is the world we live in. Chron.com and Houston Public Media have more.
How much are the taxpayers paying for this?