In July of 1968, the Atlanta Braves’ Hank Aaron hit his 500th career home run in front of 34,283 in the Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Six weeks later, Pele scored a hat trick in the same stadium in Santos’ 6-2 win over the Atlanta Chiefs.
The crowd of 26,173 who witnessed Pele’s feat in 1968 was still Atlanta’s soccer game attendance record when Atlanta bid unsuccessfully to host 1994 World Cup games.
Atlanta will host eight World Cup 2026 games at its Mercedes-Benz Stadium, in which Atlanta United has averaged an MLS-leading 48,000 per game (excluding the 2021 season impacted by Covid) since joining the league in 2017.
Since staging the 1996 Summer Olympics, the Georgia capital has hosted two Super Bowls, four NCAA men’s basketball final fours, three Major League Baseball All-Star Games and Copa America 2024 games.
This summer, it will host six FIFA Club World Cup 2025 games and the MLB All-Star Game. Another Super Bowl comes in 2028.
Dan Corso is the president of the Atlanta Sports Council and the Atlanta World Cup 26 Host Committee. We spoke with Corso about Atlanta’s preparations and what the fans can expect in the summer of 2026.
SOCCER AMERICA: The 2026 World Cup is one year away. Is the preparation on schedule?
DAN CORSO: It is here in Atlanta. We feel really good. We’re used to hosting large-scale sporting events in Atlanta. We’ve got the right organizations working together and a great footprint. We’re tracking very well.
SA: A challenge for several venues is ensuring convenient transportation to the stadiums, which won’t have their usual availability for parking because of the security parameters FIFA requires. Also, foreign visitors are likely accustomed to public transportation. What will it be like in Atlanta?
DAN CORSO: Atlanta is very fortunate. I think part of our success in recruiting these big sporting events is what we like to call our user-friendly footprint.
So you’ve got Mercedes-Benz Stadium that sits right next to the MARTA train station. That [GWCC/CNN Center] MARTA station is between the stadium and State Farm Arena and our convention center. That line runs directly from the airport.
So you’ve got over 80% of the U.S. population that can get to Atlanta on a two-hour direct flight. And then you extend that out globally with our airport, to countries all over the world.
Those travelers, when they land at the airport, have the option to jump on that MARTA rail and take it right downtown, right next to the stadium. And you can get out and walk to one of 14,000 hotel rooms within walking distance of the stadium.
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