STEELDECK NEW YORK: A Modular Deck System for Coca-Cola’s FIFA World Cup Fan Experience at MetLife
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STEELDECK NEW YORK
As the FIFA World Cup arrived in the New York–New Jersey area this summer, MetLife Stadium became one of the busiest venues of the tournament — staging eight matches in all, culminating in the final on 19 July 2026. With millions of fans converging on East Rutherford, the brand activations around the stadium had to be as ready for the crowds as the pitch itself.
Astound, working on behalf of Coca-Cola, needed a raised base for a fan experience in the MetLife car park — a levelled platform with steps and guardrails, built to turn an uneven stretch of tarmac into a clean, safe stage for supporters in the build-up to the games
The Challenge: An Uneven Car Park, Heavy Security and a Schedule Under Pressure
To carry a fan experience, the platform had to sit dead level over a 70ft × 36ft area while the ground beneath it sloped — all without compromising stability or creating trip hazards for the public moving on and off it.
The site added its own pressures. Security around MetLife was heavy throughout the World Cup, with access tightly controlled. The wider programme was running behind schedule, with the same build being rolled out in Dallas, Florida and other host cities — yet our team stayed ahead of those parallel crews and kept the New Jersey base on track.
The Build: A 70ft × 36ft Levelled Deck with Steps and Guardrails
Using our modular Steeldeck system, we built a free-standing base, sized and levelled across the slope of the car park. At a glance:
- 70ft × 36ft modular deck system, levelled across a sloping car park surface
- Decks set on packing and screwjacks to correct the gradient and hold a true level
- Integrated steps
- Temporary handrail systems fitted to the perimeter
- Built over client-supplied timber blocks supporting their truss, with the deck worked around them
- Two days to install the base, plus a day and a half for the rails and steps
Why a Modular Deck System Works for Outdoor Event Staging
Outdoor event staging rarely starts from a perfect surface. Car parks, fields and concourses slope, drain and shift, and the structure on top has to absorb all of that while still reading as level to the people using it.
A modular deck system does exactly that: standardised components packed and jacked to any height, configured to almost any footprint, and corrected across a gradient without pouring or fixing into the ground.
Safety is built in rather than bolted on at the end. Temporary handrail systems and temporary guardrail systems can be added to any exposed edge.
The Result
Coca-Cola’s scenic and fit-out partners took over a clean, stable platform, and the fan experience was ready to welcome supporters in the MetLife car park as the World Cup builds towards its 19 July final.
Planning an outdoor event that needs a levelled platform, integrated steps or temporary safety railing? Steeldeck builds modular deck systems for activations, fan zones and staging on any surface. Get in touch to discuss your project.