SCRANTON — Residents and visitors attending FIFA World Cup Fan Zone events on Lackawanna County Courthouse Square next month should plan for downtown road closures and parking restrictions in the area of the festivities.
Scranton will host one of just three official Pennsylvania World Cup Fan Zones on the square July 4, 5, 18 and 19, complementing similar fan zones in Pittsburgh and Reading. The free events here will feature live broadcasts of World Cup matches and live music, including performances by the Grammy-nominated bands Hanson on July 18 and Tonic on July 19, along with a wealth of other activities for kids, families, soccer fans and music aficionados alike.
But local officials predicting a party atmosphere downtown are also encouraging prospective attendees to plan ahead, as large crowds are expected during the events. Scranton Fan Zone hours are: July 4, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; July 5, from 2-11 p.m.; July 18, from 3-8 p.m.; and July 19, from 1-6 p.m.
Courthouse Square will also host the annual Scrantastic Spectacular celebration July 3. That event will feature a live concert by the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic and a massive fireworks display on the eve of America’s semiquincentennial, this Independence Day marking the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding in 1776.
An updated traffic map officials provided Thursday says the 200 block of North Washington Avenue, the site of a huge main stage viewing screen, will close July 2 at noon and remain closed through July 5. It will then close again July 17 at noon, remaining closed through July 19. The 200 block of Adams Avenue and the 500 blocks of Biden and Linden streets, meanwhile, will be closed from about 3 p.m. July 3 through 11 p.m. July 5. Those blocks will also close at different times July 18 and reopen late on July 19, after the final fan zone festivities conclude, per the map.
Parts of adjacent blocks will also be closed, but motorists will be able to access nearby parking garages. Parking restrictions will be in place on blocks in the immediate vicinity of the square.
Parking will be available in all downtown garages, including the garage at the Marketplace at Steamtown during mall hours, Scranton Business Administrator Eileen Cipriani confirmed. The University of Scranton and Lackawanna College are also making parking available to fan zone attendees, though Cipriani said there will not be a shuttle service.
Lackawanna County Convention & Visitors Bureau Executive Director Curt Camoni, touting the many free fan zone activities that will be available on the square, encouraged people to visit visitnepa.org to review details and make a plan for their fan zone experience.
“There is going to be a lot of people,” he said. “I have no doubt it will go well, but make a plan.”