World Cup venues transform back into NFL stadiums: See the process The 2026 World Cup is over and the debate between futbol and football can commence.
The tournament, which was won by Spain on Sunday, July 19, was hosted at 16 stadiums across the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The venues in the U.S.
were NFL stadiums that transformed this summer to follow FIFA regulations.
This included swapping out artificial turf for natural grass and removing sponsorship branding.
Some stadiums made a big deal out of returning to their NFL identity and shared the process with fans on social media.
Jerry Jones assisted in bringing AT&T Stadium back to life in a way that only he could.
Mercedes-Benz Stadium, SoFi Stadium and Levi's Stadium also made sure fans knew that those venues were ready to rumble for football this fall.
A few stadiums chose not to promote their transformations.
And Hard Rock Stadium and MetLife Stadium, which hosted the third-place and final matches, respectively, were still celebrating futbol the day after the tournament's conclusion.
Here's how World Cup venues transformed back into NFL stadiums: AT&T Stadium Dallas Cowboys Jerry Jones flew in a helicopter to take off the banner covering the AT&T logo at Jerry World.
"Football's back!" he declared in a promotional video.
Officials also quickly got to work taking out the natural grass.
Now the question is if those curtains will remain? SoFi Stadium Los Angeles Rams, Los Angeles Chargers SoFi Stadium, a jewel of a venue that impressed fans throughout the World Cup, is back in action after last hosting a World Cup match during the quarterfinals.
The venue posted a video on social media of crews taking down banners covering up the sponsored name.
Gillette Stadium New England Patriots Gillette Stadium posted a collage video that turned into a time lapse of workers removing the banner covering their main sign.
Officials were quickly in the process of removing the grass pitch to prepare for NFL season.
Mercedes-Benz Stadium Atlanta Falcons Mercedes-Benz Stadium posted a series of videos on their social media.
One showed workers taking down FIFA banners on windows and removing blank banners to reveal sponsor names that were covered up.
The car company even created a dramatic AI video showing a helicopter bringing the iconic circular logo to the stadium.
And that's not all.
The stadium's social media page posted an animated video swapping the World Cup logo for Roman numerals that signified Atlanta is now preparing to host Super Bowl XLII in 2028.
NRG Stadium/Reliant Stadium Houston Texans Houston not only covered up its NRG branding for the World Cup, but it used the opportunity to bridge a not-so-new naming rights deal.
This fall, the home of the Houston Texans will once again be known as Reliant Stadium, which was the original name when the NFL team made its debut in 2002.
Lincoln Financial Field Philadelphia Eagles The Linc wasted no time in reminding the world that it is the home of the Eagles.
The venue's social media team didn't bother to post any banners being lifted, they just showed the final product of the Lincoln Financial Field sign sitting at the top of the stadium once again and Eagles logos across the venue.
Levi's Stadium San Francisco 49ers Levi's had the most clever response to being required to cover its logo at its Bay Area stadium for the World Cup.
The denim brand put white banners on signs at its retail locations and even made its Instagram profile picture its logo covered in a white banner.
So it was extra eventful when Levi's Stadium posted the reveal that the white banner was taken down at the venue and the entire company could return to their signature red logo.
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