‘We’ve got to perform’: World Cup stakes are global for Atlanta businesses
International soccer stars won’t be the only ones expected to perform at their best next summer.
Atlanta and other 2026 World Cup host cities will have to prove they’re worthy of an international stage under the scrutiny of billions of onlookers. It’s a spotlight Atlanta hasn’t seen since the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games, an event that redefined downtown and the city’s global image.
The World Cup is an opportunity that can’t be squandered, Metro Atlanta Chamber leaders said this week during a meeting with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution‘s editorial board. Every facet of the city — from the world’s busiest airport to a beleaguered MARTA system to downtown — must be ready.
“This is a generational opportunity for Atlanta, and I think we all know that and appreciate it,” said Rich McKay, CEO of AMB Sports and Entertainment and the Atlanta Falcons and MAC’s 2026 board chair.
“But we’ve got to perform.”
Atlanta will play host to eight World Cup matches, including a semifinal game, during the five-week span in June and July. Billions of fans will watch the matches on TV, and a projected 500,000 visitors will flock to Atlanta to attend matches and drink in the festive atmosphere.
The influx of people — a number that nearly matches the city’s residential population — creates logistical challenges that must be solved, said MAC President and CEO Katie Kirkpatrick. It’s also a rare opportunity for international business leaders and heads of state to experience Atlanta and what the city has to offer.
A successful World Cup, beyond the games themselves, will be an Atlanta that reaps the spillover effects and renewed international investment for decades, she said.
“This is the type of exposure that we’re hoping would happen,” Kirkpatrick said. “ … You have this exposure of people who are decision-makers coming into town and saying, ‘We need to be there.’”
Be prepared
Atlanta has been counting down to the World Cup since June 2022, when 11 U.S. cities were awarded one of sport’s biggest events. Welcoming a half-million visitors takes rigorous preparation and Atlanta’s efforts are still coming together.
When asked if Atlanta is ready at this moment for the World Cup, McKay quickly replied, “No. It’s a work in progress.”
“But I think everybody’s very confident that when World Cup gets here, (Atlanta) will be in a really good place,” he continued. “But there’s a lot of work to do.”
Nearly everyone who travels to Atlanta for the festivities will follow the same path. They’ll fly into Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and find their way downtown, either by MARTA train or as a passenger in a rideshare or taxi.
That travel path will be many visitor‘s first impression of Atlanta.
The airport, which ferries the most passenger travel in the world, is already a feather in Atlanta’s cap, McKay said. When his companies sell Mercedes-Benz Stadium as a major event site, he said, “the first picture we put up is the airport because that is a differentiator between us and everybody else.”
MARTA is a different story.
The heavy rail system has faced broad criticism in recent years amid leadership turnover and declining ridership after the pandemic. MAC leaders said MARTA must be reliable, clean and safe during the World Cup — qualities that must continue after the fans leave.
“This is a huge system that has inherited decades of challenges,” said Kirkpatrick, who is part of a strategic operational advisory group MARTA established in August. “How you right those quickly is going to be an uphill battle.”
‘I want to be there’
Safety and reliability are crucial, but to make a lasting positive impression, downtown has to offer vibrancy, MAC leaders said.
“You’ve got to give people a reason to say, ‘I want to be there’” said Ryan Marshall, president and CEO of PulteGroup and MAC’s 2025 board chair.
In downtown, all eyes point to a handful of revitalization projects that are gaining momentum.
The $5 billion “minicity” development called Centennial Yards has turned the Gulch near Mercedes-Benz Stadium into one of the region’s largest construction sites. Apartment buildings, a hotel, an immersive theater called Cosm and a public gathering space aim to be open by the World Cup. But not all components will be finished by the summer.
A few blocks away, retailers have been joining South Downtown in droves. The area along Mitchell Street, which consists of dozens of century-old buildings, is undergoing a major makeover under the ownership of David Cummings and Jon Birdsong, the co-founders of Atlanta Tech Village in Buckhead.
The specific countries coming to Atlanta will be revealed Dec. 5. Kirkpatrick said the chamber is already preparing to highlight industries in Georgia that meld with certain countries’ key industries.
For example, a match involving Germany presents the opportunity to highlight Atlanta’s robotics and automobile prowess. A South Korean selection could similarly focus on advanced manufacturing.
“This is really about selling metro Atlanta and selling the state for economic investment,” Kirkpatrick said.
Small businesses, particularly minority-owned firms, are also a focus, which Kirkpatrick said is a lesson to learn from the Olympics three decades ago.
“They kind of got it wrong at the very end,” she said of the Olympics strategy, which mostly benefited large corporations over mom-and-pop shops. “ … But (Mayor Andre Dickens) is very cognizant of the concerns that small businesses will not be able to benefit (from the World Cup).”
Showcase Atlanta is a new city-backed initiative that aims to prepare residents and local businesses for large-scale events like the World Cup. Kirkpatrick said it’ll hopefully pay dividends for small businesses, while other efforts focus on highlighting Georgia’s Fortune 500s, higher education system and business friendly ecosystem.
While the World Cup is expected to be a boon for tourism, McKay said the long-term business exposure is really the opportunity the chamber wants to capture.
“You’re not going to measure (success) in sales tax dollars,” he said. “ … The long-lasting impact for Atlanta is the stage we are in that moment and whether that leads to the ability to recruit other businesses.”
About the Author
Zachary Hansen, a Georgia native, covers economic development and commercial real estate for the AJC. He's been with the newspaper since 2018 and enjoys diving into complex stories that affect people's lives.
