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Atlanta Finalizes World Cup Plans as City Rolls Out Upgrades, Safety Teams and Ticket Giveaways

Completed upgrades plus new safety measures, ticket distributions and fan zones aim to ready the city for hundreds of thousands of visitors

Overview

  • City leaders say they finished major street work, restriped intersections, added new lighting and repaired sidewalks ahead of the June 15 first match to prepare routes around Mercedes‑Benz Stadium.
  • Mayor Andre Dickens and public safety chiefs held a Wednesday briefing to outline crowd management, an expanded police deployment and a new 12‑person “nightlife ambassadors” program to help visitors downtown.
  • Showcase Atlanta and Invest Atlanta will oversee some free ticket distributions and neighborhood watch parties to broaden access to matches and events across multiple fan zones.
  • Business owners near the stadium report they have not yet seen promised contract opportunities or increased foot traffic and say city programs have not tangibly reached the closest merchants.
  • Secondary‑market prices for Atlanta matches are very high, with reported ticket listings starting in the hundreds and reaching into the thousands, a concern that city officials say the giveaways seek to address.