ATLANTA — Heads up, drivers. A short but major stretch of street through downtown Atlanta is hours away from changing direction. And part of Centennial Olympic Park Drive is going from two-way to one-way only.
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The park — all 22 acres — is really coming to life,” Joe Bocherer said.
He says it’s the perfect way to celebrate a milestone.
“We’re almost 30 years to the exact week and day of 1996, when this park hosted the Centennial Olympic Games.”
Three decades later, it’s the World Cup.
Downtown Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Park is currently being transformed for FIFA. The park has been closed to the public for a week. On Thursday, Channel 2 Action News went behind the barriers.
“You can see those guys on the scaffolding up here. That’s going to be a 40-foot Jumbotron,” Bocherer said.
It will broadcast all of the World Cup games live.
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Bocherer is with the Georgia World Congress Center. He says the FIFA Fan Festival is three years in the making.
There will be 18 days — 10 hours a day — of live music, world-class performers, games and VIP appearances.
The number of visitors will be capped at 15,000 per day. So far, 150,000 free but upgradeable tickets have been reserved, most of them by metro Atlanta fans.
“It’s a great moment for us and a full-circle moment for the city of Atlanta and the state of Georgia. The preparations going into this are probably equal to — if not bigger than — the Olympics,” Bocherer said.
The park reopens to the public and FIFA on June 11.
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