With the countdown to the World Cup matches down to its final hours, host areas like the Bay Area are buzzing with frantic, last-minute preparations for massive watch parties.<\/p>\n
Organizers are putting the finishing touches on the official downtown San Jose watch party at San Pedro Square, a joint effort between the city and the San Jose Earthquakes. The event features artificial turf and two massive television screens, including one measuring 27 feet.<\/p>\n
Tens of thousands of fans are expected to flood the downtown area.<\/p>\n
“I think the spirit and the mood are going to be incredibly exciting,” said Jared Shawlee, president of the San Jose Earthquakes. “We\u2019ve already had over 20,000 RSVPs for the game tomorrow, Mexico vs. South Africa at noon. We\u2019re at 15,000 RSVPs for the USA game on Friday night, so the mood will be incredible.”<\/p>\n
The San Pedro Square event is designed to create a central gathering spot for soccer fans while giving a major economic boost to downtown businesses.<\/p>\n
Local business owners say the tournament’s scale sets it apart from other major sporting events.<\/p>\n
“I think, you know, for the U.S. games\u2026 the big teams like Mexico, Colombia, England, Germany, Italy\u2026 I think it\u2019s gonna be, like, big,” said David Mulvehill, a partner at O\u2019Flaherty\u2019s Irish Pub. “I think those games gonna draw a huge crowd\u2026 and obviously the bars are gonna be full on San Pedro.”<\/p>\n
For local families, the community atmosphere is a draw, but the true excitement lies in the tournament’s high stakes.<\/p>\n
“There\u2019s all these countries\u2026 and it\u2019s really fun to watch because it\u2019s so competitive,” said Joseph Quiroz of San Jose, adding that he is rooting for Spain.<\/p>\n
While San Pedro Square is expected to be a primary destination, it will not be the only place for fans to gather. Neighborhood watch parties are being organized throughout the South Bay.<\/p>\n
The Directors\u2019 Alliance San Jose is coordinating events across 11 business districts, including Willow Glen, Alum Rock, Japantown, and the Monterey corridor.<\/p>\n
“You can enjoy cultural events,” said Helen Masamori, co-director of the Directors\u2019 Alliance San Jose and representative of the Alum Rock Business Association. “We\u2019re gonna have dance, music, food, and each district\u2026 11 of us\u2026 are gonna have their own watch parties.”<\/p>\n
Because the tournament spans more than a month, organizers are encouraging fans to explore different venues across the city.<\/p>\n
“There\u2019s so many games\u2026 over a period of over a month,” said Shyam Panchal of the Monterey Corridor Improvement District. “Absolutely go to San Pedro Square\u2026 come down to the Plant\u2026 go down to the Mexican Heritage Plaza\u2026 go where you wanna see and have a new adventure, a new journey.”<\/p>\n
Officials urge attendees to check the websites of the San Jose Earthquakes, the city of San Jose or local business districts to RSVP and find information on what items are permitted at the venues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With the countdown to the World Cup matches down to its final hours, host areas like the Bay…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":355516,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[88,1084,90,89,200],"class_list":["post-355515","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-jose","tag-san-jose","tag-san-jose-earthquakes","tag-san-jose-headlines","tag-san-jose-news","tag-south-bay"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355515","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=355515"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355515\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/355516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=355515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=355515"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=355515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}