Six Years for 147 Minutes: How MetLife Stadium Prepared for the World Cup Final
Insights
For most fans, and the Argentinian and Spanish men’s national teams, the 2026 FIFA World Cup final began with kickoff. For EwingCole, it began in 2020.
Long before Canada, Mexico, and the United States were officially awarded the 2026 FIFA World Cup, EwingCole was already studying what it would take to transform one of the world’s busiest sports venues into a stadium capable of hosting the most-watched sporting event globally. Beginning with a feasibility study, we spent years developing engineering solutions that would satisfy FIFA’s rigorous requirements while preserving everything that makes MetLife Stadium one of the NFL’s premier venues.
The challenge was unlike designing a new stadium. MetLife Stadium was already doing exactly what it was built to do. Completed in 2010, the 2.1 million square foot venue serves as the shared home of the New York Giants and New York Jets, the first stadium to be shared by two NFL franchises. As Architect and MEP Engineer of Record, our team helped deliver a facility that balanced two team identities while accommodating more than 82,000 fans, sold-out concerts, and year-round entertainment. More than 15 years later, we returned to prepare the stadium for another global milestone.
Reimagining the Corners
The most visible, yet subtle, change happened in four places many fans may have never noticed, in the corners.
FIFA regulations require a larger pitch than an NFL field, meaning the stadium’s four lower seating corners had to be reengineered. Instead of permanently removing seats, EwingCole designed an innovative demountable seating system using lightweight composite steel decking that allows entire seating sections to be removed and reinstalled in less than 48 hours. Even more impressive, the seats return to their exact original locations, preserving the NFL configuration for the Giants and Jets.
The solution solved more than a geometry problem. Because the system is significantly lighter than traditional construction, critical team spaces beneath the seating remained fully operational. The concept proved so successful that similar approaches influenced other World Cup host venues.
Surgical Precision
Removing the seating was only half the challenge. Beneath each corner sat a dense network of electrical, HVAC, plumbing, fire protection, and communications infrastructure serving occupied team spaces. Every system had to be carefully redesigned so it could be disconnected, removed with the seating structure, and reconnected when the stadium returned to its factory setting. The result was a series of engineered “plug and play” connections that allow one of the world’s busiest stadiums to transform between two sports without sacrificing functionality or disrupting operations.
All Natural
Beneath the seating bowl, another transformation was taking place.
Natural grass, a FIFA requirement, demands an entirely different level of infrastructure than the stadium’s synthetic turf field. EwingCole and FIFA’s field consultant engineered an irrigation system with backup water supply, vacuum and ventilation systems to maximum drainage and turf growth, and added power capable of supporting portable grow lights to maintain healthy playing conditions throughout the tournament. Every system had to integrate seamlessly within an active stadium while remaining flexible enough for future conversions between football and soccer.
A Stadium Built to Evolve
Six years of planning. Two construction phases. Four removable seating corners. Eight matches. Billions of viewers around the world. The numbers only tell part of the story.
The World Cup Final lasted just over two hours, yet it showcased years of collaboration between EwingCole, Skanska, MetLife Stadium, FIFA consultants, and countless engineers, builders, and specialists. It demonstrated that the most successful sports venues are adaptable, resilient, and designed to evolve alongside the world’s biggest events.
