First look inside San Francisco Bay Area Stadium ahead of FIFA World Cup

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Four years after FIFA announced the World Cup would return to the Bay Area, FIFA organizers gave the media an exclusive first look inside the transformed venue on Wednesday.

Preparations are entering their final stages for the six upcoming tournament matches. However, fans arriving at the Santa Clara venue will notice a major change before they even step through the gates: the iconic Levi’s Stadium name has vanished.

FIFA World Cup stadium transformation

Stadium Rebrand:

To comply with strict FIFA corporate sponsorship guidelines, all existing commercial branding on both the interior and exterior of the venue have been covered. Throughout the duration of the tournament, the home of the San Francisco 49ers will officially be known as the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium.

Crews are working to install extensive FIFA World Cup signage, decorative banners, and on-pitch equipment like goal nets to create a captivating environment for the attendees and players. 

"It should be immersive with the big banners," said Gian Keller, the FIFA events and entertainment lead for the Bay Area Stadium. 

New World Cup player traditions and tunnel protocols

What they're saying:

According to Keller, who oversees the pre-game and post-game on-pitch experience, fans and players will witness several historical tournament firsts.

Expanded Anthem Lineups: For the first time in FIFA World Cup history, every player named to a country's final tournament roster—not just the starting 11 players—will be permitted on the pitch to line up together for the national anthems.

Shared Tunnel Entrances: Unlike NFL games where teams emerge from opposing sides of the stadium, both competing World Cup squads will walk out to the pitch through the exact same central tunnel.

Identical Locker Rooms: FIFA has constructed two entirely new, identical locker rooms inside the stadium facility, which will be customized and branded with the national flags of the participating countries.

Inside the Bay Area World Cup media and broadcast upgrades

Dig deeper:

Converting a standard NFL stadium into a soccer venue that meets international standards is a massive logistical undertaking.

Venue media manager Erika Mach praised the collaboration between international organizers and local stadium staff.

"We have been working closely with our stadium counterparts, who have been amazing in helping us know which rooms we need to use and where we need to set up," Mach said. "We have come together to collaborate and ensure that on the back end we have everything ready to have a streamlined experience for the teams, the fans, and anyone joining us."

The transformation includes repurposing the traditional NFL visitors' locker room into a massive media interview hub for international broadcasters.

For fans watching from home, the broadcast production will be very comprehensive. 

Production planners revealed that each World Cup match will utilize at least 45 cameras, which is more than double the 15 to 20 cameras typically used for top-level European club soccer matches.

The first match at the San Francisco Bay Stadium will kick off on Saturday and feature the national teams of Qatar and Switzerland. 

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