San Jose is moving its official World Cup watch parties to larger, ticketed venues Sunday after violence near the city’s downtown fan celebrations left two people stabbed and one man dead in separate incidents.
The city said watch parties for Sunday’s Brazil-Norway and Mexico-England matches will be held at Discovery Meadow and SAP Center instead of San Pedro Square, where tens of thousands of fans have gathered during the tournament.
The events will remain free, but tickets will be required.
Discovery Meadow will show both matches. SAP Center will show Mexico vs. England, which is scheduled for 5 p.m.
Mayor Matt Mahan said the city was opening larger venues where “fans and families can come together and celebrate safely.”
“We’re showing the rest of the country what it means to be a soccer city,” Mahan said in a statement. “The enthusiasm and energy our community is bringing to these matches is incredible.”
San Pedro Square’s restaurants and bars will remain open Sunday. City-sponsored watch parties are scheduled to return to San Pedro Square on Monday.
The move follows a series of violent incidents near downtown celebrations.
On Tuesday night, two people were stabbed in separate altercations after Mexico defeated Ecuador 2-0. Police declared an unlawful assembly near Santa Clara Street and Almaden Avenue shortly before midnight and ordered the crowd to disperse.
Police said the stabbing victims’ injuries were not life-threatening. Several people were arrested.
The San Jose Police Department said most fans celebrated responsibly, but some people fought, set off fireworks in crowded areas, climbed onto an ambulance and threw bottles at officers.
Two days earlier, one man was killed and another was critically wounded in a shooting near North Market and West Santa Clara streets, about a block from San Pedro Square. Police have said the shooting was isolated and unrelated to World Cup festivities.
San Pedro Square has been one of the Bay Area’s largest public gathering sites during the tournament.
“Our teams across the City, and our partners, moved quickly to stand up two larger venues in a matter of days,” Assistant City Manager Lee Wilcox said in a statement. “That’s what San Jose does – we deliver for our community.”
City officials said the Sunday changes are intended to give fans more space as some of the tournament’s biggest remaining crowds are expected downtown.
In San Francisco, Spark Social canceled its remaining public World Cup viewing events this week after two people were shot and wounded Tuesday night near the Mission Bay venue.
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This article originally published at San Jose moves World Cup watch parties to larger, ticketed venues after downtown violence.