Ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup matches coming this summer, the Atlanta City Council approved the creation of open container district for South Downtown.
The open container district will allow visitors to consume alcohol on the streets and sidewalks as they walk from different restaurants, bars, and events. The idea is to create a more social atmosphere in the re-emerging South Downtown district and make it a destination, Councilmember Jason Dozier told the Atlanta-Journal Constitution.
The new South Downtown Entertainment District is a rectangular area extending from Alabama Street south to Trinity Avenue and Peachtree Street west to Ted Turner Drive. The district includes the South Downtown redevelopment, which includes 58 historic buildings that are being transformed into shops, restaurants, housing, and is home to a new location of Atlanta Tech Village.
An ordinance was also introduced to declare parts of Downtown Atlanta as a temporary “public entertainment district” during the World Cup, from June 11 to July 29. The measure would prohibit the distribution of commercial products, prohibit cruising, and create a limited open container area.
Other items approved by the council include:
• An ordinance adding approximately $182 million to re-establish the Aviation Encumbrance Program Capacity to fund future projects at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
• A resolution authorizing a five-year, approximately $33 million special procurement agreement for operation and maintenance of the Plane Train Automated Guideway Transit System at Hartsfield-Jackson.
• An ordinance authorizing execution of a $21 million amendment on behalf of the Department of Watershed Management for infrastructure modernization initiatives.
• An ordinance authorizing an approximately $1.2 million change order to the Project Partnership Agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for phase two of the R.M. Clayton Levee Improvements Project – Bolton Road Segment.
• An ordinance authorizing acceptance of approximately $1.1 million in grant funding from the Georgia Department of Transportation to provide preliminary engineering for the Lenox Road Corridor Trail and safety improvements from Phipps Boulevard to Piedmont Road.
• An ordinance leasing approximately three acres of Rodney Cook, Sr. Park on Vine Street to the Andrew J. Young Foundation, which will use the property for administration, programming, and operation of the Andrew Young International Institute for Peace and Reconciliation, including constructing improvements on the property.
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