How Fraser Valley-grown grass redefined BC Place Stadium for the FIFA World Cup

“The stadium is very, very nice. It’s unbelievable. Everyone was buzzing. They loved it. Felt pretty cool. The pitch was great quality tonight,” said Australian goalkeeper Patrick Beach after the June 13 match against Turkey at BC Place Stadium, Vancouver’s very first match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

By the time Belgium played New Zealand at BC Place Stadium nearly two weeks later, the temporary grass pitch was still drawing strong reviews — this time from one of the sport’s biggest names.

“I have to say it was a really nice stadium to play in. Feels like a real, for me, football stadium. The other two are massive, but you have more [of an] NFL feeling, I would say. I think for us, it was really nice [at BC Place], it felt the pitch, it’s a bit different. It was a pleasure,” said Belgium star Kevin De Bruyne after the June 26 match.

Dale Frith, FIFA’s pitch manager for BC Place Stadium, said Switzerland — which is set to play at the stadium for the third time today in Vancouver’s seventh and final match, a Round of 16 clash against Colombia with a quarterfinal berth on the line — has also been pleased with the venue and playing surface.

“Switzerland is due to play their third game here, and they’ve been very happy, very complimentary of everything. Those three countries in particular have been great,” Frith told Daily Hive Urbanized in an interview on Monday.

But for Frith, silence can be the best review.

You might also like:
• Belgium World Cup star Kevin De Bruyne is a big fan of BC Place Stadium
• How FIFA World Cup match days turn Pacific Boulevard into an outdoor extension of BC Place Stadium
• How four technicians installed FIFA World Cup's giant 'Beautiful Dome' soccer ball in Vancouver
• A giant match ball outside, soccer science inside: Science World goes all in on FIFA World Cup
• A look inside BC Place Stadium after all of its FIFA World Cup upgrades
• BC Lions build temporary 18,500-seat home stadium in Kelowna

“I haven’t heard anything negative, so almost no news is good news. If people aren’t talking about the pitch, I’m happy,” he said.

“If they’re talking about it, it’s almost like a referee. If you’re talking about a referee, he’s made some bad decisions or whatever. If you’re not talking about the referee, if you’re not talking about the pitch, then I think that’s great.”

For all of the attention on how the pitch has performed inside BC Place Stadium, the story of Vancouver’s FIFA World Cup grass began about an 85-km drive east in Abbotsford, where Bert Bos and his family-run company, Bos Sod Farms, spent nearly a year growing the natural grass surface that would eventually be trucked into the Downtown Vancouver venue.

In a separate interview with Daily Hive Urbanized on Monday, Bert said he and his wife Debbie have been in business since 1993, growing grass for three core end uses: golf courses, residential landscaping, and athletic fields.

Although he describes his family’s operation as relatively small to mid-sized, its reach is much larger than its size might suggest, with product shipped across the Pacific Northwest and, in some cases, as far as the Yukon and Missouri.

The company’s specialty is sand-based production. Bos said all of their production is grown on sand, with sand hauled in specifically for that purpose.

“That’s a bit of a unique feature. You won’t see that too much in North America, where somebody is 100 per cent all sand-based,” he said.

That detail matters because BC Place Stadium’s pitch was far from being simply a standard roll-out lawn. It was a highly engineered surface designed to meet FIFA’s highest standards for elite international football inside a stadium that was never contemplated for a natural grass field.

The project also carried a striking local contrast. Bos noted his farm is located on the former bottom of the Sumas Lake and was heavily affected by the devastating 2021 flooding in the Fraser Valley.

“We’re on the former lake bottom; we were flooded in 2021. We had five feet of water. So it’s a stark difference growing grass for BC Place,” said Bos.

This opportunity came through FIFA’s turf research network. Bos said FIFA approached his company, with University of Tennessee turf grass expert John Sorochan playing a role in the early contact and assessment. Sorochan has been closely associated with FIFA’s research into natural grass systems for North American stadiums.

Bos said his company was placed on a list of potential providers, but the contract still involved a bidding process and detailed submissions.

Bos Sod Farms was competing against a strong grower in the United States, but the chance to supply a local pitch for a national-scale event was especially meaningful.

“We wanted to land a local contract of this calibre, because of the nature of the event, because it … has a national aspect to it,” he said.

The grass itself was grown using a system very different from conventional sod.

Bos said there were two major differences: it was grown on plastic, and it was a hybrid surface. The plastic layer changes the way the roots develop.

“There’s one that is grown on plastic. We actually have a plastic film, and then we grow the soil on top of that. So when the roots hit the plastic, the roots go lateral and [it] creates a very robust root layer,” he told Daily Hive Urbanized.

The hybrid element refers to artificial components integrated with the natural grass system. Bos said there are generally two approaches: artificial fibres stitched into an existing natural grass field, or a carpet-based system. For BC Place Stadium and other venues in the tournament, the pitch used the carpet-based method.

The growing work in Abbotsford officially began on June 13, 2025, giving the pitch roughly 11 months of growth before it was brought into the stadium in early May 2026 — shortly after the last Vancouver Whitecaps FC match was played in late April 2026, before the venue kicked off its final tournament-mode transformation process.

The total growing area at his farm was about 11,500 sq. metres — about 124,000 sq. ft. or 2.84 acres. Bos said the finished sod was about 38 mm — roughly an inch and a half — thick at maturity, making it extremely heavy and stable.

“What we did was carpet-based. So basically, we put on this hybrid carpet, we sew it together with a sewing machine in the field. So you have this giant three-acre carpet, basically, and then we can fill up the sand,” Bos told Daily Hive Urbanized.

“When you lay it down, you can technically play it immediately because of the weight and the maturities there,” he said, before adding that FIFA, of course, did not rush the surface into play. The grass continued to grow inside the stadium for another four and a half weeks before the first match, giving the pitch ample time to settle, strengthen, and reach the level of consistency required for the tournament.

Bos also shared that from the outset of the process, his company created a demonstration plot at his own expense to show FIFA that he could produce the required system. That trial mattered because the Lower Mainland’s climate is very different from many places where sod-on-plastic systems are used.

“Our climate is very different from other areas where they go sod on plastic, it’s typically more [of] a desert environment, and we’re the extreme opposite, we’re actually the rainforest,” said Bos.

He said Abbotsford sees about 1.5 metres — 60 inches — of precipitation in an average year, while some other regions using similar methods may receive about one-tenth of that amount annually. That created a major drainage challenge.

The company was involved in sand and seed selection, as well as the growing and installation work. Once the pitch was fully installed at BC Place Stadium, the responsibility officially shifted to FIFA and the stadium operations team, but he admitted it was difficult to let go after nearly a year of work.

“I tried to stay connected with the project as long as I could … because it’s actually hard to let it go after you’re going to have somebody else look after it for you,” he said.

The logistics of getting the grass from Abbotsford to Downtown Vancouver were also tightly controlled. Bos said shelf life after harvest varies depending on grass type, time of year, moisture, and other factors. For this project, his company aimed to keep the sod rolled up for no more than 14 hours.

“So basically, we create minimal stress,” he said. “Once sod is rolled up, it wants to go to compost naturally, because you’re basically creating the conditions for composting. You have nitrogen, you have carbon, and you have moisture, and if you also have oxygen, too, then basically it wants to go to compost.”

Before harvest, the grass was monitored intensely. During the irrigation season, moisture readings were taken at least three times a day. His team also conducted weekly nutrient tissue checks, monitored the soil and water, and scouted daily for disease.

“You’re on it every day. You’re either thinking about it or doing something to it,” said Bos.

His company did not widely promote its involvement until closer to this past spring. There were limits on what could be shared publicly, along with concerns about security, vandalism, and unnecessary attention.

Inside BC Place Stadium, that work looking over the grass was handed over to a separate but equally specialized operation.

Frith’s job is to manage all pitch-related requirements and coordinate between FIFA and the stadium team.

He put it even more simply: “If you want to step on the pitch, if you want to do anything with the pitch, you have to go through me.”

Frith said planning for FIFA World Cup grass surfaces in North America began years ago, particularly once it became clear the tournament would use several stadiums with indoor environments or existing artificial turf fields.

The problem was basic, but quite complicated: grass is not naturally meant to live inside a closed stadium.

However, for FIFA, the temporary nature of the BC Place Stadium pitch could not be an excuse for a lower standard.

“The setup here for having the pitch in the stadium for eight weeks; it is just a temporary thing. But they had to do everything they could to. Albeit it is temporary, it has got to still match the playing characteristics and match FIFA quality playing characteristics for all of the games,” he said.

The system inside BC Place Stadium is layered over the stadium’s existing artificial turf, which was installed in early 2022. Frith said a membrane was placed over the artificial turf, followed by a sand layer roughly 12 inches thick. On top of the sand layer sits the hybrid carpet system grown by Bos.

Within that sand layer are drainage pipes and irrigation pipes. The drainage system is connected to an air vacuum system that can pull moisture out when needed.

The irrigation system serves the dual purposes of keeping the grass alive and preparing the field for match play.

“So the water, we use that to keep the grass alive and healthy, but the irrigation is also used literally pre-match for wetting the surface for the ball and for the players, so that we get a nice fast-paced game,” said Frith.

After installation, the grass continued to grow inside the stadium for another four and a half weeks before match play began, with the faint purple glow of the giant grow lights visible at night through BC Place Stadium’s semi-translucent upper exterior.

“Initially, you see individual lines of turf, and we didn’t want to have that for the matches. So, it just needed some time to bed in and grow and do its thing,” he said.

That period also allowed Frith and the grounds crew to learn how this particular pitch would behave in this particular stadium.

“Every pitch, every stadium, is different, so you need to get an understanding of how it’s going to behave to plan your maintenance around that accordingly,” he said.

In addition to the grow lights, because healthy grass also needs air movement, the stadium used six large fans or wind turbines to keep air moving across the grass surface and reduce the risk of disease.

The stadium roof has also been part of the pitch-management equation. Frith said the roof has been opened as much as possible to give the grass access to natural light and air movement. But it has, of course, been closed during matches to help ensure consistent lighting and eliminate shadows across the field for television broadcasts, as is preferred whenever possible at FIFA World Cup stadiums. It has also been closed during rainfall to protect the playing surface.

FIFA’s requirement for a hybrid system was based on establishing consistency. Frith said all 16 stadiums in the tournament are using a hybrid field. The goal is to ensure the playing conditions remain consistent throughout the tournament.

Although Frith said the installation was completed before he arrived in Vancouver, his understanding is that the work by Bos and his team went very well.

“It’s certainly been very clean, healthy turf. Sometimes you can get weed, grass in there, but there was none of that, so they did a great job there,” Frith told Daily Hive Urbanized.

That attention to detail is also how Bos describes the project from the farm side. He said the pitch checked the boxes his company cares most about: quality, aesthetics, performance, drainage, and cleanliness.

“The cleanliness of this turf is actually a big thing,” said Bos. “But this is literally about how clean the turf is. And then it’s super important going to the stadium that the hygiene was super clean.”

Frith also pointed to the logistics of moving the sod from farm to stadium.

“Trying to get the turf or the sod cut on the farm and transported from A to B is a great logistical feat, and they achieved that and met the timeframes that were put in place,” he said.

Since the pitch has been in FIFA’s hands, the monitoring has been constant. Frith said the team checks pitch firmness, moisture content, and traction daily. Traction refers to how players’ studs or cleats interact with the surface.

Before the tournament, FIFA carried out a full test to sign off on the quality. During the tournament period, the grounds team uses daily readings to guide maintenance decisions. Frith said firmness can be controlled through aeration, while mowing tends to make the pitch harder because of the weight of the equipment.

“What we’ve got to do is maintain a safe and comfortable surface for the players, so we do that by aerating on a particular frequency, which we judge by taking the readings,” he said.

Moisture has also been deliberately managed. Before the tournament, the pitch was kept relatively dry to encourage rooting. As match days arrived, moisture levels were increased to improve the playing feel.

“It helps the pitch play better. If it’s too dry, it’s obviously no good, so we maintain it at a certain level for that,” said Frith.

The pitch has not gone through the tournament unchanged. After six matches, Frith said some grass coverage has been lost, which he described as fully expected given the difficult indoor environment. One particularly demanding stretch came between Vancouver’s second and fifth matches, when the pitch endured the heavy wear and tear of four matches over just nine days — including two matches that were held just one day apart — while the roof also had to remain closed for much of that period.

A soccer match entails 22 players on the field, including 20 outfield players and two goalkeepers. With each elite outfield player typically running roughly about 10 km or more on average over 90 minutes, every match can translate into roughly 200 km or more of running, stopping, turning, and traction across the grass per match — not including goalkeepers and warmups.

But Frith said the key measure is playability, and on that front, he believes the pitch has performed well.

“But throughout all of that, the playing quality, the playability of the pitch, has remained consistently high,” he emphasized.

He said teams have told FIFA that players like playing on the surface, and he has been watching closely from the pitch side.

“I sit pitch side, and I watch the game, and I see how comfortable the players are on the pitch, passing the ball, running, stopping, all of that,” said Frith.

He also believes the field has contributed to the quality of the matches held in Vancouver.

“I think we’ve had some really fantastic games here at BC Place. We’ve had at least two goals per game,” he said. “It’s been exciting, and I think the pitch has helped towards that.”

After today’s final match held in Vancouver, the temporary natural grass system will have only an extremely short remaining life inside the stadium.

FIFA told Daily Hive Urbanized the pitch removal process is expected to begin very soon after the last match — potentially tomorrow, just a day after the Round of 16 match, depending on the preliminary takedown procedure, or Thursday.

This also entails the removal of LED, power, and other infrastructure around the field. The process needs to begin almost immediately to revert BC Place Stadium back to its previous configuration in time for the scheduled return of Canadian Football League (CFL) and Major League Soccer (MLS) uses, with a new replacement artificial turf surface.

BC Place Stadium’s first event after the FIFA World Cup will be held on Saturday, July 25 — two and a half weeks after the final match held at the venue, and one week after the championship final in New York/New Jersey on Sunday, July 19 — with the BC Lions hosting the Toronto Argonauts in a CFL match. The first Vancouver Whitecaps FC match at the venue in months will follow on Saturday, Aug. 1, when the club hosts Los Angeles FC.

For Bos, he hopes the high-profile project also sparks wider interest in natural grass products — as opposed to artificial turf and hard surfaces — and the expertise that exists locally.

“We love natural grass. We think it’s the way to go,” Bos told Daily Hive Urbanized.

“Of course, we’re a little biased, but we just think there’s real benefit in natural grass. It has a real recreational benefit for kids to play on. It’s an outlet for people to do yard work,” continued Bos, also pointing to the oxygen-producing benefits of grass surfaces, such as how a 5,000 sq. ft. lawn can produce enough oxygen for 23 people.

When the first match was played at the stadium, Bos was not in the building. He watched on television, but perhaps not quite like most viewers.

“I guess I’m looking more at the grass than at the players. I have to make sure it’s performing well, so that’s what I’m focused on,” he said.

For his family, seeing the field move from farm to stadium was still a special moment.

“It’s cool to see it, where it goes from the field, and then you see it in the stadium. So that’s a cool feeling,” said Bos.

As Vancouver’s final FIFA World Cup match day arrives, the temporary pitch has completed its job. It was grown in Abbotsford, transported into Canada’s flagship stadium, strengthened under grow lights and wind machines, tested and maintained daily, and played on by some of the world’s best soccer players.

It was also on this grass that Canada made history, earning its first-ever FIFA World Cup match victory with a stunning 6-0 win over Qatar — a result that helped push the national men’s team toward the knockout rounds.

“We’re very happy with the outcome,” added Bos. “We like to take pride in our work, but not be proud. So that’s what we’re trying to draw the line.”

While Vancouver’s matches come to an end today, the FIFA World Cup-related educational experience inside Science World — the temporary giant adidas Trionda soccer ball in Vancouver’s skyline — will remain in place for another two months. The Science and Technology exhibit from the FIFA Museum in Zurich, Switzerland, which looks at the evolution of soccer through design, engineering, science, data, and materials, will remain until the end of the Labour Day weekend in early September 2026 — offering visitors another way to consider some of the technical details behind the game.

You might also like:
• Belgium World Cup star Kevin De Bruyne is a big fan of BC Place Stadium
• How FIFA World Cup match days turn Pacific Boulevard into an outdoor extension of BC Place Stadium
• How four technicians installed FIFA World Cup's giant 'Beautiful Dome' soccer ball in Vancouver
• A giant match ball outside, soccer science inside: Science World goes all in on FIFA World Cup
• A look inside BC Place Stadium after all of its FIFA World Cup upgrades
• BC Lions build temporary 18,500-seat home stadium in Kelowna