How SoFi Stadium is turning its NFL field into a World Cup-worthy soccer pitch

Preparations for the World Cup are in full swing, as Los Angeles marks 30 days out from the start of the tournament at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.

Organizers celebrated the milestone on Tuesday, standing on the ground floor of the stadium, which is mid-transformation from a football field to a soccer pitch.

Otto Benedict, SoFi Stadium's head of operations, stood in front of the field— currently a brown, rectangular plot framed by two soccer goals — and described what was required to turn the home of the L.A. Rams and Chargers into a professional soccer pitch.

" The American football field is sitting underneath us right now," Benedict told reporters. "We put in an overfill to protect the synthetic fibers. We put down a layer of flooring material to protect it, and then we built this entire system on top of that field."

Preparations for the FIFA World Cup are in full swing at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.

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Libby Rainey

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LAist

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That project included removing 400 seats from the stadium to make room for the soccer field and installing an irrigation system. Next comes fresh grass, which is currently being driven down from the state of Washington in refrigerated trucks, Benedict said. On Wednesday, crews will begin to install it.

Preparations around the city

While SoFi prepares its pitch, the Los Angeles region is preparing for the tournament, too. L.A. Metro launched special Tap cards to mark the occasion, and is encouraging fans to take its special shuttle buses to the matches.

Metro launched special Tap cards to mark the occasion, and is encouraging fans to take its special shuttle buses to the matches.

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Libby Rainey

/

LAist

)

" Parking and riding Metro is going to be a lot cheaper and a lot more hassle-free than trying to drive in to get to the stadium or one of the many fan zones  throughout our city and the larger Southern California region," Stephanie Wiggins, Metro's CEO, said Tuesday at SoFi.

Fans who won't be at the tournament can attend the FIFA Fan Festival at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum June 11-15, or a number of other fan zones and watch parties.

Human rights issues

As preparations ramp up, so do questions about the unintended consequences of the World Cup coming to L.A., including the role ICE will play in security for the tournament.

Labor unions and human rights advocates have raised the alarm since Todd Lyons, the agency's head, said earlier this year that ICE's investigatory branch will play a key role in security for the tournament. They've also criticized the local host committee for not mentioning immigration enforcement in its recently released human rights plan.

Kathryn Schloessman, who leads L.A.'s World Cup host committee, told reporters Tuesday that ICE would be at the tournament, and that its presence was typical at these types of major events. But she said she couldn't guarantee there would be no immigration enforcement.

Metro is encouraging fans to take its special shuttle buses to the matches.

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Libby Rainey

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LAist

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"We are working very closely with them to make sure they're just focused on us, providing us a safe and secure event and nothing else," she said. "But having said that, I am not the ultimate decision-maker on that."

ICE's presence introduces another unknown to World Cup preparations, just a month out from the first match in L.A. SoFi Stadium's food and beverage workers have threatened to strike if they don't get guarantees that ICE won't be at the tournament.