Atlanta Stadium Pledges to Make 2026 World Cup More Affordable—Beers at Just $5

Atlanta Stadium (Mercedes-Benz Stadium) will host eight World Cup matches, including an illustrious semifinal.

Mercedes-Benz Stadium can hold up to 75,000 fans for special events. | Andrew J. Clark/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images

As 2026 FIFA World Cup tickets and transportation fees soar to heights never before seen, Atlanta is the latest host city pledging to make the experience more affordable for fans.

One of 16 host cities for the tournament this summer, Atlanta Stadium (Mercedes-Benz Stadium) will host eight games, including a semifinal, and it has pledged to keep prices within the stadium, such as concessions, affordable for those in attendance.

“Fans give us their energy, their time, their passion, their resources, their families, whatever it may be, and we need to honor that in the truest sense of the word, whatever we can,” Arthur Blank, owner of the Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta United and the stadium itself, told WSB-TV Atlanta.

“We can’t always control what happens on the field, what happens on the pitch, but we can control the fan experience,” he added.

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Atlanta’s Affordable Pricing

Mercedes-Benz Stadium is home to the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United, | Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Atlanta Stadium, with a capacity of 75,000, will host five World Cup group stage matches, including two for No. 2 globally ranked Spain—June 15 against Cabo Verde and June 21 against Saudi Arabia; a round of 32 match on July 1; a round of 16 match on July 7; and a prestigious semifinal on July 15.

Although the games to see the Spanish powerhouses will cost upwards of $600 per person—with the best visibility costing roughly $1,500—and the knockout stages priced even higher, the experience should be relatively affordable for fans once inside the walls of Atlanta Stadium.

Blank wants global soccer fans to experience the “Southern hospitality” of the city, so the stadium will uphold its well-known “Fan First” menu prices for soccer’s greatest showcase, including $2 hot dogs, pretzels and popcorn and $3 cheese nachos. A small domestic draft beer will cost $5, compared to other professional sports stadiums, where a beer is upwards of $10.

Atlanta is just the latest host city taking strides to combat the general in-affordability of the grand tournament, a source of mounting backlash online and for which FIFA president Gianni Infantino has defended by simply pointing to a willing U.S. market: “We are in the market in which entertainment is the most developed in the world. So we have to apply market rates.”

New York City plans to host five free multi-day World Cup Fan Fest events, one in each borough, that will include live viewings of games and local food offerings. Philadelphia has targeted transportation costs, reaching a deal to provide free travel to fans leaving Lincoln Financial Field via SEPTA. Kansas City is likewise assisting fans with tournament transportation, offering a direct shuttle from FIFA Fan Festival or one of four park-and-ride sites to Arrowhead Stadium for $15 round-trip, or unlimited rides at $50.

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