Downtown Atlanta leader’s view: 6 reasons the World Cup was a hit
As World Cup 2026 moves to the rearview mirror, it is important to reflect on what we all learned and the results of our hosting such a big and lengthy event.
After all, it’s been 30 years since the 1996 Olympic Games, which mirrors the three- to four-week timeframe of hosting the recent World Cup games in Atlanta.
But first, hats off to all those who had the foresight to conceive the bid, impress FIFA enough to become a host city, and secure eight wonderful games, which were flawlessly executed.
6 ways Atlanta proved its success
Here are my observations from a downtown perspective:
1. No one can argue that we are not an international city and state. The diversity of visitors, even if they may have lived in other parts of the U.S., was more than impressive. They seemed to have one heck of a time, not only in the stadium games, but on our streets, in our bars and restaurants, on MARTA, at the airport and of course, at the FIFA Fan Fest. Southern hospitality is still a real thing to those who may never have experienced it.
2. Let’s be honest, we like big events, and big events like us. But this wasn’t just a downtown event. There were watch parties and celebrations all over the metro area. I have learned that large events like this create a level of civic pride in all of us. It’s like the world has vindicated our own opinion of why we live, work and play in Atlanta and Georgia. And we like to share our community with visitors no matter where they come from. Big events allow us to show off a bit and these particular visitors liked what they saw.
3. To no one’s surprise, Mercedes-Benz Stadium (aka Atlanta Stadium) is more than a first-class asset, and it’s less than 10 years old! It’s managed extremely well and has received rave reviews from the majority of those who played in it, or from those who bought one of those expensive game tickets. It turned out to be worth the price of admission.
4. Further, our big event infrastructure is also outstanding and compared to competing cities, easily accessible and walkable. Hotels, our downtown parks, eclectic attractions, big venues and the airport are all relatively close together and linked via MARTA. Many don’t realize what a big advantage this is over other cities.
5. From a downtown standpoint, during the World Cup festivities, new, dramatic assets were discovered like Cosm in Centennial Yards and Founders Green in South Downtown, and relatively older assets were rediscovered like Centennial Park, the CTR (formerly CNN Center) and Underground Atlanta. And we continue to add and renovate our hotel products and world class attractions. (No other host city had a soccer exhibit with a human rights exhibit like we did at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights).
6. Last, we know what it takes to collaboratively pull these events off. Others may take this for granted, but they shouldn’t. We have an excellent track record and just added a big item to our resume.
Residents can feel proud of their downtown
Our downtown community was hit hard by the COVID years. We are still dusting ourselves off and we needed the World Cup to give us a boost and launch us into another generation of development and growth.
And I believe it will, just like the Olympics did in 1996.
We are home to the most visible assets in the entire Southeast, and we take the stewardship of these assets very seriously.
You don’t have to wait until the next big event to visit downtown and feel proud about what we offer to all visitors.
Vamos, Downtown Atlanta!
AJ Robinson is president of Downtown Atlanta Inc. (formerly Central Atlanta Progress and Atlanta Downtown Improvement District).