Who are the winners of Atlanta’s World Cup?
It’s too soon to know which national team will claim this year’s World Cup trophy, but it’s clear the brand of Atlanta is looking like a winner after playing host to its eight matches of the 2026 tournament.
In the wake of Argentina’s 2-1 win over England in Wednesday’s semifinal match, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution picked several hometown winners of the biggest sporting event to hit the city since 1996 Centennial Olympic Games.
Mercedes-Benz Stadium
The venue known as “Atlanta Stadium” during the World Cup because of FIFA sponsorship rules got rave reviews for its expansive size, climate control, overhead 360-degree halo video screen and retractable roof.
The Athletic ranked Mercedes-Benz Stadium as the top World Cup stadium, tied with Seattle’s Lumen Field.
“It’s downtown. It’s indoors. It’s gigantic,” The Athletic wrote about the Benz. It’s “the type of thing you’d sketch as a child if your art teacher said: ‘No rules. Draw an imaginary stadium.’”
Arthur Blank
The person behind the stadium is one of the biggest names in Atlanta sports: Not Hank Aaron or Deion Sanders, but Arthur Blank, Home Depot co-founder, owner of the Falcons and Atlanta United and operator of the Benz.
Blank bringing the United to Atlanta helped put the city on the international soccer map.
Blank is also the force behind one of the viral hits of Atlanta’s World Cup: the stadium’s low-priced concessions — including $2 hot dogs, $5 cheeseburgers and $2 sodas.
“Our owner Arthur Blank said: ‘Any event that happens at our stadium, we’re going to have fan-friendly pricing,’” said Shannon Joyner, chief marketing officer of the Atlanta Falcons.
Falcons and Atlanta United fans who attend games at the stadium are well familiar with Blank’s philosophy of offering food and drinks at some of the lowest stadium prices around the country. There was no change as the stadium played host to its largest-ever international sporting event.
That sends a message to visitors to Atlanta: “We’re not going to be gouging you for every dollar in your pocket,” said Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau President and CEO William Pate.
That’s not to say tickets were cheap with this reportedly being the most expensive World Cup in history. The get-in price for Wednesday’s semifinal was more than $3,000.
FIFA Fan Fest and watch parties
Event planners always hope to reach capacity, and that hasn’t been a problem at Centennial Olympic Park this summer.
By the end of the World Cup’s group stage, the official FIFA Fan Festival had sold out its free tickets for the rest of the tournament. Photos and videos of the packed downtown park have gone viral after nearly every match.
Other large watch parties across metro Atlanta have similarly seen success. There’s been no shortage of lines outside sports bars across the city, and other large viewing parties consistently attracted large crowds.
The Decatur WatchFest pulled off a marathon of match broadcasts and concerts while debuting its newly renovated downtown square. The former CNN Center, rebranded as The Center and stylized as The CTR, has also offered packed watch parties to tens of thousands of people during the tournament.
Downtown’s big projects
The face of Atlanta looks nearly unrecognizable since the Centennial Olympics graced the city 30 years ago.
For many visitors — and even locals — downtown looks very different from even a few years ago. Many of downtown’s biggest development projects are in full-swing and used the World Cup as their coming out party.
Centennial Yards, the $5 billion redevelopment of the Gulch, debuted much of its first phase and offered fans plenty to do before and after matches. Cosm, the immersive entertainment venue that opened there last month, is one of the more distinctive ways people have experienced the World Cup in Atlanta — particularly if they couldn’t get tickets to get into the stadium.
Close to the Five Points MARTA station, the South Downtown project acted as a World Cup hub filled with restaurants, shops, watch parties and vendors.
Underground Atlanta cemented its party atmosphere with overflowing fan events, namely a takeover by thousands of Argentina supporters that lit social media on fire.
The CTR also opened its revamped atrium offering dining options — and air conditioning — to passerby near the stadium.
While there were reports of unequal spoils among vendors and businesses, those located in downtown’s largest projects consistently saw tons of business during the World Cup. And city leaders would likely be thrilled if only a fraction of downtown’s newfound vibrancy perseveres past the tournament.
With future phases of Centennial Yards, South Downtown and The CTR under development, there’s more to look forward to.
MARTA
Some in Atlanta were nervously waiting to see how MARTA would perform under the pressure of World Cup.
The situation felt precarious because of recent violent crimes on the system and longstanding criticisms of the limitations of Atlanta’s transit system, its struggles to complete projects on time and operational missteps such as an escalator malfunction after a Beyoncé concert last year that left 11 injured.
But MARTA has mostly avoided any major mishaps during the World Cup.
MARTA made a big push to prepare for World Cup, including doubling train frequency on the days of matches at the FIFA Fan Fest.
World Cup events doubled MARTA ridership, exceeding projections, and safety and security plans for the tournament went well, MARTA interim General Manager and CEO Jonathan Hunt said halfway through the tournament.
Destination Atlanta, Georgia
Volunteers in downtown Atlanta have been greeting World Cup and Fan Fest goers, one of the ways locals rolled out the red carpet to make visitors from around the world feel welcome. At an Explore Georgia expo at the Georgia World Congress Center downtown, tourists learned about destinations across the state from Ellijay to Savannah.
“Atlanta won the World Cup,” said Andrew Saltzman, chief commercial officer for the Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena.
With the end of the tournament matches in Atlanta, “it’s kind of bittersweet. It’s like, all our friends are leaving. They visited us for the summer,” said Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens. Now, “the summer program is ending, but it’s been so fun. It’s been so magical for our city to be on display.”