The $5.5 billion SoFi Stadium was under the global spotlight during the United States and Paraguay’s opening kickoff game. While the USA celebrated a brilliant 4-1 win in their opening game, the debate around the possibility of shifting the NFL games to grass fields once again came up. According to the FIFA ruling, all stadiums had to be maintained as grass fields for the entirety of the World Cup.

SoFi Stadium, which is home to two LA teams [LA Chargers and LA Rams], is one of the 17 teams that do not have grass fields. For the purpose of hosting the tournament, they went through 10 weeks during which the stadium was not open to any events, as it was mandatory to have grass fields. Many have thought why this could not be followed at the SoFi for NFL games as well. NFL Insider Albert Breer reported that SoFi Stadium being home to two teams had a part to play in the grass fields not being a consideration.

“SoFi Stadium (named Los Angeles Stadium for the World Cup, which is another story) hosted the U.S. team on Friday night and the grass glittered for the Americans’ rout of Paraguay,” wrote Breer for Sports Illustrated. “The translucent roof, believe it or not, allows for enough sunlight to effectively grow grass in the indoor stadium. And I’ve heard that if the stadium were a one-team stadium—if it had been just the Rams there—then they very well may have gone with a grass surface.”

One of the primary reasons why having two teams makes it difficult to maintain a grass field is that the durability of the grass would make it a task to manage the wear and tear of back-to-back matchups. Both the Chargers and Rams play 17 games a season, out of which nine are going to be played at SoFi. This means the stadium will host 18 regular-season games this coming season, including the Super Bowl next season.

With the stadium in use almost every week from the middle of August, that’s very little time for maintenance, which is why having grass fields would not be very practical. MetLife Stadium in New Jersey is the one other stadium that houses two teams, the New York Jets and New York Giants, and they also use an artificial turf playing surface.

Stan Kroenke, the owner of the Rams, funded the entire stadium himself with private money. The Chargers were given the opportunity by Kronke and the league to become tenants at SoFi with a $1 per year rental agreement for 20 years. The deal also comes with two additional 10-year options, so the Chargers will not be going anywhere for decades.

Yet the issue of grass vs turf extends far beyond just SoFi Stadium.

The World Cup spotlight has made the use of grass fields even more glaring.

FIFA has temporarily installed natural grass in 11 NFL stadiums for the 2026 World Cup. During the NFL season, the venues that use turf will take out the grass playing field that FIFA requires. The World Cup has reignited a long-standing debate amongst players and the league regarding the use of grass as opposed to turf.

The NFL Players Association is strong in its stance that all surfaces in the NFL need to be grass. At the start of the World Cup, they made their stance clear once again through a statement prior to the start of the event.

“Tomorrow, the World Cup kicks off. Over the course of the tournament, 11 NFL stadiums will host 78 soccer matches on high-quality grass fields installed to meet FIFA demands. When the World Cup ends, many of these same stadiums will go back to turf despite 92% of NFL players preferring natural grass. If these extensive field changes are worth the cost for a month-long tournament, why aren’t they worth the cost for the NFL players who primarily compete in these stadiums?” the NFLPA X account posted.

A lot of NFL players, on their part, have been open and emphatic on their stance.

“Can it be done? Yes. We know it’s going to be done” Rams safety Quentin Lake said to Jordan Raanan of ESPN as part of his extensive reporting on the issue. “So I would hope that one day, maybe in the near future, that they can do it for us.”

Inevitably, it all comes down to money, and who better to explain that than Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

“The turf, actually, like many things, improves the economics of being able to play this game, and our players are the biggest benefactors of all. They get the best benefit of when we do good things financially,” Jones said, speaking to reporters at owner meetings in Phoenix.

The World Cup has clearly shown that it is possible to put out and maintain pristine grass surfaces in NFL stadiums. But as Breer pointed out regarding SoFi Stadium, there are scheduling and economic hurdles that must be crossed. But expect the conversation surrounding the issue to only get more intense as NFL players are seeing firsthand through the World Cup that grass fields on all stadiums can be done.