With 80 days until the first World Cup match in Atlanta, South Downtown is looking like a different place. From Mercedes-Benz Stadium's doorstep to the streets around the Gold Dome, a wave of new restaurants, bars, and entertainment venues are racing to open before soccer fans arrive from around the world.
Atlanta Ventures partner Jon Birdsong says all retail and food-and-beverage concepts at his company's 58 historic South Downtown buildings are on pace to open by May 15. Bottle Rocket, the beloved Castleberry Hill burger and sushi spot, could open even earlier.
CNN Center is being remade as The Center and is set to reopen in May with a new food hall focus. Meanwhile, the new MARTA transit line connecting South Downtown to Summerhill is scheduled to debut in April.
This marks the largest injection of downtown investment in 30 years, since Atlanta hosted the 1996 Olympics. For longtime downtown skeptics, the World Cup may finally deliver on promises of urban revival.
