by John A. Tures, Professor of Political Science, LaGrange College

The World Cup coming to Atlanta is a huge opportunity for Cobb County as well as its sports and entertainment and transportation offerings. But there’s a right way the region can score at this event, and a way that this could turn into a big nil for the county north of Atlanta.

One mistake that could happen is that Atlanta in general, and Cobb County in particular, may be tempted to go on a building spree. That could lead to overbuilding that plagued the aftermath of the Athens Olympics in 2004. “For Greeks who swelled with pride at the time, the Games are now a source of anger as the country struggles through a six-year depression, record unemployment, homelessness and poverty,” Euronews wrote. The authors noted an Oxford University study that Greece had a cost overrun of 97 percent and it cost $11 billion to put on, more than twice what was projected. Many structures are crumbling and unused, instead of using lower cost prefab options.

Beijing hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics and 2022 Winter Olympics, and it faces similar issues with unused structures and abandoned venues according to NBC Chicago, which adds similarly empty Olympic spaces from Berlin to Sarajevo to Rio de Janeiro.

Closer to home, I’ve written about problems with the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Tennis Center near Stone Mountain Georgia. The Georgia Dome received mixed reviews, and was imploded after 25 years.

A better option may be to upgrade existing used facilities to entice teams to play scrimmages nearby (the way the 2012 London Olympics were constructed, one that I was fortunate enough to attend), and places fans to go to such events. There’s the Atlanta United FC Training Ground, the Quique Lopez Football Park, Cobb Adult Soccer, TOCA Soccer Center West Cobb, Mud Creek Soccer Complex, Marathon Soccer Park, and Marietta Indoor Sports soccer field, Legacy Park Adult Soccer, and more. Some will be better for soccer scrimmages, while others are better for soccer experience and youth activities.

As for World Cup soccer fan mania it’s clear that tickets will be hard to come by. That’s why it is important to find fan venues where Cobb County and other Atlanta-area fans can watch the game that’s played in their backyard. The Atlanta United FC organization hosted a FIFA World Cup watch party for the ages in December of 2022 at the Coca-Cola Roxy Theater for the Argentina-France game that made you feel like you were there in Qatar.

AMC Parkway Pointe 15, AMC Barrett Commons 24 and AMC Cobb Place 8 (the latter two are in Kennesaw) and other theaters should seriously think about opening up a few screens to the game. Sure it will be the peak of the Summer movie blockbusters, but Cobb County residents will want to be part of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Transportation downtown should be a logistical nightmare. What better way to alleviate the traffic could there be than to have those MARTA buses head from Cobb County to the game and back, and pick up early shopping at the malls where those connectors stop? Having made this trek from Decatur to a pair of Atlanta Braves playoff games, I have seen this work firsthand.

Luckily, Atlanta and Cobb County will get a chance this summer to conduct a dry run for these World Cup plans. Mercedes Benz Stadium is set to host the opening match of the CONMEBOL Copa America 2024 Cup on June 20. Local organizers should plan as if it’s the World Cup, to see what works and what doesn’t. Further plans can be tweaked in time for the College Football Playoff (CFP) which is poised to return to the ATL next year. Then we’ll know how game-ready Atlanta and Cobb County are for history-making soccer in 2026.

John A. Tures is a professor of political science at LaGrange College in LaGrange, Georgia. His views are his own. He can be reached at jtures@lagrange.edu. His Twitter account is JohnTures2.