{"id":16083,"date":"2026-05-13T11:29:59","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T11:29:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/2026\/05\/13\/yes-thats-real-grass-growing-inside-bc-place-heres-where-fifas-turf-comes-from-cp24\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T11:29:59","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T11:29:59","slug":"yes-thats-real-grass-growing-inside-bc-place-heres-where-fifas-turf-comes-from-cp24","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/2026\/05\/13\/yes-thats-real-grass-growing-inside-bc-place-heres-where-fifas-turf-comes-from-cp24\/","title":{"rendered":"Yes, that\u2019s real grass growing inside BC Place. Here\u2019s where FIFA\u2019s turf comes from &#8211; CP24"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Published:<!-- -->\u00a0<time datetime=\"2026-05-13T11:18:38.69Z\">May 13, 2026 at 7:18AM EDT<\/time><br \/>VANCOUVER \u2013 Workers are putting the finishing touches on a stadium overhaul at BC Place for the FIFA World Cup that includes one of the tournament\u2019s most unusual features &#8211; a natural grass field growing under a dome. <br \/>\u201cIn just two days we will hand the building over to FIFA to finish the final preparations to become a World Cup stadium,\u201d said the stadium\u2019s general manager Chris May during a media tour Tuesday.<br \/>The stadium, which first opened in 1983 and was renovated ahead of the 2010 Winter Olympics, has undergone another major transformation to meet FIFA standards. Upgrades include a massive new video screen, modernized locker rooms, hospitality spaces and additional accessibility improvements.<br \/>But the most talked about upgrade will be under the players\u2019 feet.<br \/>The natural grass now taking root inside the stadium is a carefully engineered mix of Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass, developed to survive inside a domed stadium, and to provide a consistent playing surface across all 16 World Cup venues in Canada, the United States and Mexico. It\u2019s a challenge that required years of research and planning by turf experts from Michigan State University and the University of Tennessee.<br \/>But on Tuesday, B.C.\u2019s Premier highlighted the local contribution in pulling off the perfect pitch. \u201cThis grass comes straight out of the Fraser Valley, from Abbotsford, installed by a company out of Langley,\u201d David Eby said at Tuesday\u2019s event.<br \/>The grass at BC Place has been installed into a surface roughly 35 centimetres deep, allowing roots to take hold. It will be kept alive during the tournament with grow lights that were visible at field-level on Tuesday.<br \/>But that\u2019s not all that\u2019s growing.<br \/>The upgrades at BC Place are part of a much larger public investment tied to the World Cup. Last year, the provincial government estimated the total cost of hosting games in Vancouver at between $532 million and $624 million, including approximately $196 million in stadium improvements.<br \/>But an updated FIFA price tag for taxpayers remains a mystery, only one month out from the tournament. Eby was unable to supply those numbers Tuesday, but said they\u2019re coming soon. <br \/>\u201cOur intention was to release that with our partners closer to the date of the first game,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I have asked our team to bring that forward to ensure that we have the total out to the public by the end of the month.\u201d<br \/>Eby insists it will all be worth it \u2013 anticipating the World Cup will bring a million visitors to Vancouver over the next five years, and a billion-dollar economic benefit.<br \/>Canada\u2019s men\u2019s national team will play two group-stage matches in Vancouver after opening the tournament in Toronto. The first game at BC Place with Australia facing Turkey kicks off June 13.<br \/><i>With files from The Canadian Press<\/i><br \/>\u00a92026 BellMedia All Rights Reserved<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/rss\/articles\/CBMiwAFBVV95cUxQaFJqX1Y1UUg0MVBaQXctODFZRlVXNE4yNFJoV3c4V2xzaWoyZzRjWGtLdXdwYWtGUWdwTzEweVBFU0JzSlFQMkVSZ2ExUFNBYXN3cUxOaW9Sd0hVcEY4LVREbEE1LVk0eVNFN2xZVmtjOThRdkoxcENRUHhDM0N4LVVOOGk1WXUyS29lbHRYaUpEbVNqUUtkZ0tRQXJWR2tWdXpkR1FHaEFLSmxTRUFUV0JFQWNGR1lLTlNwREJRdW8?oc=5\">source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Published:\u00a0May 13, 2026 at 7:18AM EDTVANCOUVER \u2013 Workers are putting the finishing touches on a stadium overhaul at BC Place for the FIFA World Cup that includes one of the tournament\u2019s most unusual features &#8211; a natural grass field growing under a dome. \u201cIn just two days we will hand the building over to FIFA [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16084,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-16083","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16083","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16083"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16083\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16084"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16083"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16083"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16083"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}