INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — With 30 days to go until its first match, Los Angeles is ready with transportation and food for the World Cup. The playing surface? Not just yet.The U.S. men open at SoFi Stadium (to be known as Los Angeles Stadium) against Paraguay on June 12, the first of eight matches to be played at the NFL stadium in Inglewood.The field was all dirt on Tuesday.That changes Wednesday, when sod arrives after a 1,600-mile trip in refrigerated trucks from Washington state. It’ll be installed over two days.“This surface is the players’ stage,” said Otto Benedict, senior vice president of facilities and campus operation for SoFi Stadium.Construction on the field began April 13 after the stadium hosted a Monster Jam event in which 12,000-pound trucks competed in racing, skills and freestyle competitions.The stadium modified the field shared by the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers in two phases. Auxiliary space and wider dimensions were created by removing corner seats to meet FIFA specifications, and a sophisticated irrigation system was installed to maintain the grass.
“To be the place where the energy first ignites, where the home crowd gets to set the tone for the rest of the tournament is a responsibility we don’t take lightly,” Benedict said.
