The Brief There is no World Cup, without a pitch to play on, and on Friday, we got an inside look at what is now known as Houston Stadium, formerly known as NRG Stadium. Crews are prepping and installing the grass, which is a mix of Kentucky bluegrass and perennial rye grass. Now, they will take the next three-and-a-half weeks to grow and install a natural grass pitch to meet FIFA standards. Typically, that takes 12 to 13 weeks.