Copa America 2024: CONMEBOL assures Hard Rock Stadium surface will be in ‘excellent condition’ for final

The South American Football Confederation has said the Hard Rock Stadium pitch will be in excellent condition for the Copa America final on July 14, following complaints during the group stage about the grass on other pitches used for the tournament.

The turf at the NFL’s Dolphins stadium in Miami Gardens was removed Sunday for a July 6 concert featuring Colombian artist Feid. Installation of a new turf field will begin July 8 and is expected to be completed four days before the South American Championship final.

“We hope it is in excellent condition,” Maristela Kuhn, an agricultural engineer for the South American Football Confederation and coordinator of the Copa America 2024 grass project, said Monday.

“Same condition as the first game.” There were two first rounds at Hard Rock. Uruguay beat Panama 3-1 on June 23 and Argentina beat Peru 2-0 on Saturday.

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Kuhn spoke to The Associated Press after a news conference in which she and other CONMEBOL officials explained that Miami will be the only stadium to undergo changes to the grass. The change was planned before the start of the tournament because of the concert.

After reigning champions Argentina defeated Canada in the season opener on June 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, both teams criticized the grass field, which replaced conventional artificial turf. Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez called the field a “disaster.” Canadian defender Kamal Miller said it looked hollow.

After Brazil’s 4-1 win over Paraguay at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Friday, Brazilian Vinicius Junior said the Copa America is “always difficult because of the fields.”

CONMEBOL officials said the complaints were due to the appearance of the grass. In some areas of the field, the tips of the blades of grass were visible, but there were no differences in level, officials said. At MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, there were brown patches along the sideline.

“Aesthetics can give a wrong perception,” said Frederico Nantes, director of CONMEBOL competitions and operations. He explained that tests were carried out before and after matches to evaluate the pitch and how the ball moved and struck, and he noted that they all had good results.

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By the second game in Atlanta, the seams in the grass were no longer visible and since it looked better, no one talked about the stadium anymore, Kuhn said.

Miami Stadium maintains a grass field during the NFL season, but six of the 14 stadiums used in the tournament had artificial turf fields. The fields are also slightly smaller than the international standard, measuring 100 by 64 meters (109 by 70 yards) instead of 105 by 68 meters (115 by 74 yards).

Eight of the stadiums are hosting the 2026 World Cup, and renovations are planned to accommodate the larger pitches in two years. FIFA typically takes control of the stadiums about a month in advance of the World Cup.

CONMEBOL officials said the process of installing the temporary pitches for Copa America began a year ago. Grass grown in specially selected nurseries is glued to plastic sheets that adhere to the surface of the pitch. It is transported in trucks and installed in a process that takes into account every detail, from watering to sunlight to where the trucks that will drop it on the pitch pass, the organization said.

Nearly 1 million people will attend the Copa America group stage matches. The most attended match was the match between Argentina and Chile, which attracted 81,106 spectators at MetLife, the venue of the 2026 World Cup final. Forty percent of the group stage matches were sold out.