OPPORTUNITIES TO CAPITALIZE on World Cup fever certainly are not limited to the more than 100 matches scheduled during the 34-day soccer tournament and can go far beyond the 16 host cities across North America.
To help communities plan events around the World Cup, including practical strategies and actionable tools, the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA) in collaboration with the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center (VTC) at Rutgers University, published a placemaking guide, FROM STREETS TO STADIUMS: Transforming Public Spaces to Celebrate the World’s Game. Research was provided by New Jersey Institute of Technology Hillier College of Architecture and Design.
The 24-page guide is designed for municipalities as a tool to host soccer-themed events and other street activations, and options to consider when it comes to the cost and effort around activities, seating and placemaking. For instance, the guide examines the pros and cons of choosing a location, from closing streets to using a parking lot to another public space or an urban park. “Municipally owned streets are much easier to closer than county or state roads. Intersections or blank facades offer great opportunities for artistic activations,” the guide advises.
Activities can include interactive materials that get community members to connect, play, and engage with each other. Each is categorized by cost (low, medium, and high) as well as timeframes for assembly.
Among the low-cost activities are a simple projector and screen to watch matches, soccer-themed or stackable seating, and a triangular sunshade, or even something as simple as including a world flag banner to celebrate different teams and cultures.
More intensive efforts might include soccer darts, a mini soccer ball net and ball to set up small street soccer games or a soccer match parklet, and large inflatable soccer balls that can be used for games and activities. On the higher end might be buildable turf-covered seating or soccer net hammocks within a scaffold structure to sit and relax while watching matches.
The FIFA World Cup 2026 New York New Jersey Host Committee also has developed a Community Toolkit, a “quick start guide to getting involved, making an impact, and celebrating our communities.”
– Mark Hrywna