Skanska has begun modifying the capacity of the lower bowl of New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium to meet FIFA requirements ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

New York and New Jersey will be one of 16 city areas in the US, Mexico, and Canada hosting the tournament in two years.

The 2.2-million-sq-ft MetLife Stadium, which Skanska completed in 2010, will host eight World Cup games including the final.

It was the first stadium built for two NFL teams, the New York Giants and New York Jets. It’s also used for concerts and other events.

Skanska will rip out 1,740 permanent seats to expand the field’s dimensions, replacing them with a modular steel composite seating system to maintain current NFL seating requirements.

It will also make related mechanical, electrical, audio visual, and plumbing adjustments.

The company broke the job into two phases to accommodate NFL games between now and the World Cup.