SoFi Stadium passes the grass and atmosphere test among players as World Cup looms

SoFi's capacity of 70,240 is also small by FIFA standards but that can be boosted by as much as 10,000 with the addition of temporary stands in the upper deck above the north and south ends.

SoFi isn't the only World Cup venue having a Copa dress rehearsal this summer. Eight of the 11 U.S. stadiums that will be used in 2026 are also staging Copa matches, and eight games into the tournament, some have been found wanting. Many stadiums will have to widen their pitches in the corners and add grass fields over the regular artificial turf.

That hasn't gone well.

Players from both teams complained about the carpet laid down in Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium for last week's tournament opener, with Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez calling it a "disaster" and Canada defender Kamal Miller saying the field felt "as if it was hollow."

U.S. midfielder Weston McKennie complained about a lack of atmosphere ahead of his team's opening win over Bolivia, which was played in front of more than 30,000 empty seats at AT&T Stadium outside Dallas. Of the tournament's first eight games, only Argentina's opener sold out.

Monday's SoFi match came close, with attendance announced at 67,158. And while the ersatz field and narrow dimensions drew complaints, the reviews from those who took part were mostly good.

"There are things that are going to have to improve obviously. The dimensions, the speed of the ball, that type of thing," Costa Rica coach Gustavo Alfaro said in Spanish. "But it seems to me that it is a good test, to know what we need.

"The atmosphere was very nice. The logistics are very good. Everything was very easy for the teams. They did it very well."

Teenage forward Andy Rojas agreed.

"The stadium is spectacular," he said. "It's a huge, beautiful stadium and it is good for hosting the World Cup. The grass felt like it slowed the ball a lot, but it can be fixed."

There were a few other glitches — a press elevator never showed up postgame — but nothing that negatively impacted the fan experience.

"It went well," a SoFi official declared afterward. "A lot of the little nuance things that will be required as part of this major event, we're going to be looking at those things," Benedict added. "Whether it's Copa, our upcoming concerts, even the NFL season in '24, in '25. We will take those learnings and make sure we're adjusting."

Yet for David Cartagena of Irvine, who attended the game with his son dressed in matching Real Madrid jerseys, Monday's test was one the stadium passed with flying colors.

"For soccer and the World Cup? Are you kidding me?" he said as he waited in a quick-moving concession line. "This place is going to be crazy."

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