The apex of international soccer will be on display this summer in Atlanta, but not everyone can get tickets to see the World Cup matches in the flesh.
The next best way to watch might just be in the shadow of Atlanta’s stadium — and arguably it gets fans even closer to the action.
Cosm, a 70,000-square-foot dome that uses the same technology as planetariums, announced Friday it will showcase World Cup matches at its forthcoming Centennial Yards location in downtown Atlanta. The company and Fox Sports signed an agreement to show 40 matches during the summer, including all U.S. Men’s National Team contests.
Credit: Courtesy of Cosm
Credit: Courtesy of Cosm
“At Fox Sports, our goal is to make the world’s biggest events feel even bigger, and teaming up with Cosm allows us to do that quite literally — on the biggest immersive screen in live sports,” Michael Bucklin, a Fox Sports executive, said in a news release.
Cosm is a centerpiece of Centennial Yards’ entertainment district, a massive redevelopment next to Mercedes-Benz Stadium and State Farm Arena. The $5 billion project is remaking the Gulch, a 50-acre tangle of rail lines and parking lots, into one of the Southeast’s largest mixed-use districts — an effort often compared to creating a “minicity” within downtown Atlanta.
Credit: Courtesy of Centennial Yards
Credit: Courtesy of Centennial Yards
Cosm is set to open June 10, debuting with Game 4 of the NBA Finals. But days later, Atlanta is slated to play host to the first of eight World Cup matches at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which is rebranded as “Atlanta Stadium” for the tournament.
The Cosm in Atlanta will be the company’s third, joining locations in Los Angeles and Dallas. Its main attraction is an 87-foot diameter LED dome that projects sports on a cosmic scale.
The venue’s showings include a series of live feeds spliced together from cameras placed at vantage points throughout live sporting events. It allows Cosm to toggle between behind-the-net views and sideline shots, depending on where the action is taking place.
Centennial Yards is being developed by Los Angeles-based CIM Group and will include thousands of apartments, as well as office towers, restaurants, retail and hotels.
Music industry giant Live Nation will also run a 5,300-seat concert venue in the district, but it won’t be ready before the World Cup festivities. A central gathering plaza that can hold 3,000 people is also taking shape.
Cosm, which also shows immersive movies and non-sports events, typically does not showcase events for sports teams that are playing home games or in their host city. That will continue for the World Cup, where it will not show the matches that are held in Atlanta, and the same applies to Los Angeles and Dallas where Cosm’s other locations operate.
Credit: Courtesy of Cosm
Credit: Courtesy of Cosm
“We are thrilled to collaborate with Fox Sports to super-serve fans during the FIFA World Cup 2026 and bring people together through shared reality across our venues in three of the World Cup’s major host cities, simultaneously.” Peter Murphy, a Cosm executive, said in the release.
Ticket presales will begin May 15 at cosm.com/fifa. Pricing information wasn’t released, but Cosm’s other sporting event tickets tend to start at more than $100.
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
