Weeks after the 2026 FIFA World Cup wrapped up, Atlanta’s downtown leaders gathered across the street from the stadium that hosted the tournament, close enough to look out the window and see the venue where eight matches, including a semifinal, had just been played.
The setting was fitting.
At the Aug. 11 Atlanta Downtown Neighborhood Association August General Body Meeting at the Georgia World Congress Center, a panel of downtown leaders reflected on what worked during the 2026 FIFA World Cup and, more importantly, what Atlanta can do to keep downtown active after the international crowds have gone home.
The panel included Jennifer Ball, chief operating officer of Downtown Atlanta Inc.; former Atlanta Police Chief George Turner, chief security officer and senior vice president for the Atlanta Hawks and CIM; April Stammel, who leads marketing, leasing and community engagement for South Downtown Atlanta; and Lyle Baldes, director of special events at Underground Atlanta.
The discussion centered on a question that extended beyond the World Cup: How can downtown maintain the energy, investment and sense of community created by a major international event?
For Turner, the answer begins with partnerships.
“I’m confident that we do this well because of partnerships, and we truly respect those partnerships,” Turner said, describing the coordination among local, state and federal agencies during World Cup planning.
That coordination included additional police resources, with Turner saying Atlanta received about 200 officers from other cities to help provide coverage downtown. He also pointed to communication centers where agencies could respond to problems in real time.
But the World Cup also exposed challenges, particularly around how visitors move through downtown and how businesses prepare for them.
Stammel said South Downtown expected parking lots to fill and visitors to walk across the pedestrian bridge toward Mercedes-Benz Stadium, as they do during Atlanta Falcons games. Instead, many people used MARTA, walked or arrived by bicycle.
“MARTA worked, and it served its purpose,” Stammel said.
The unexpected traffic patterns meant some planned small-business activations did not receive the foot traffic organizers anticipated. Still, Stammel said one of the biggest surprises was how many Atlanta residents came downtown during the tournament.
“It was…just as many local Atlanta people as there were England fans,” she said of the semifinal. “It was remarkable.”
For Ball, that local enthusiasm may be one of the World Cup’s most important legacies.
She said the tournament showed people that downtown could be a place to gather, have fun and explore, without needing a major international event as an excuse.
The challenge now is sustaining that attitude.
“People want to come together and do fun things with each other in public spaces at amazing local businesses,” Ball said.
The panel also discussed the World Cup’s impact on small businesses. Ball said many businesses that received pop-up support from Downtown Atlanta Inc. signed agreements to remain longer than three months, while others are considering longer-term arrangements.
But she cautioned against assuming every business would see enormous profits.
“There were probably overblown expectations of the revenue potential for any business,” Ball said.
The panelists agreed that downtown needs more events created for Atlanta, not just major events brought to the city.
Stammel said there is already an appetite for collaboration among South Downtown, Georgia State, Underground Atlanta and other downtown destinations.
Baldes pointed to 404 Day as an example of a homegrown event that brought thousands of people downtown.
“We don’t need a Super Bowl. We don’t need a World Cup to have these things,” Baldes said.
The discussion ultimately returned to public space, safety, walkability and coordination. Ball said downtown needs places people want to visit, ways to comfortably move between them and consistent communication about what is happening.
“Tell people to come,” she said. “It’s not easy.”
The Atlanta Downtown Neighborhood Association hosts a general body meeting each month at different downtown locations, giving residents an opportunity to stay informed and connect with their neighbors. The association also hosts happy hours at various downtown bars and restaurants on the first Friday of each month.
A month after the World Cup, with Mercedes-Benz Stadium now visible through the windows of the meeting room instead of surrounded by international crowds, the message from downtown leaders was clear: The tournament may be over, but the work of building on its momentum has just begun.
