Houston crews are racing to install the World Cup pitch as FIFA tournament preparations enter a critical phase weeks before kickoff.
HOUSTON — Houston’s World Cup preparations are entering a critical phase as crews begin installing the playing surface that will host matches during the tournament just weeks from now.
Officials gave an inside look Friday at the complex process of building the field — or “pitch” — that players will compete on during the World Cup.
Crews are currently installing a water management system that will serve as the base layer for the field before several additional layers are added and topped with natural grass.
Officials said planning for the project began years ago, even before Houston officially secured its role as a host city.
“We had the concept of this pitch probably before the bid process,” Dan Bergstrom, pitch consultant for the Houston Host Committee, said.
“We had to present an idea for how we could construct this pitch, and we had to pitch that to FIFA on the front end of the bid process as a part of that bid and hosting process,” Bergstrom said.
Officials said the planning and preparation process has stretched across nearly seven years.
“So we’ve been working on this for nearly 7 years,” Bergstrom said.
The timeline to complete the field installation is much tighter than usual.
Officials said a project that would normally take 12 to 13 weeks is being compressed into roughly three and a half weeks as crews race to get the stadium ready before the World Cup begins.
The World Cup is set to kick off in just a few weeks.
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