Local and visiting soccer lovers alike should flock to downtown Scranton this July when Lackawanna County Courthouse Square becomes a mecca for fans of the sport on the international stage.<\/p>\n
Such fans learned Thursday that Scranton, and Courthouse Square in particular, will serve as one of just three \u201cPennsylvania World Cup Fan Zones\u201d hosting FIFA World Cup watch parties between Independence Day and July 19, the date of the 2026 World Cup Final. Pittsburgh and Reading will host the other fan zones, Gov. Josh Shapiro, Visit PA and Philadelphia Soccer 2026, the nonprofit host committee planning and executing World Cup matches there, announced.<\/p>\n
Hosted jointly by the United States, Canada and Mexico, with Philadelphia serving as one of the U.S. host cities, the 2026 World Cup is expected to be the largest international sporting event ever staged and draw millions of fans to North American venues hosting matches. Billions of viewers are expected to tune in from across the globe.<\/p>\n
For soccer aficionados across Northeast Pennsylvania and the broader region who aren\u2019t making the trip to Philadelphia or another host city to take in the action, Scranton\u2019s outdoor fan zone on Courthouse Square will feature a stage and massive \u201cLED screen wall\u201d for crowds of up to 5,000 people, a press release notes.<\/p>\n
\u201cSports have a way of connecting us, of making memories, of bringing people together in really wonderful and special ways,\u201d Shapiro said Thursday while announcing the fan zones during a press conference at a Reading hotel. \u201cWe now get the chance to make those memories here in this Commonwealth, and importantly, we have an opportunity to bring people together in this Commonwealth.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Pennsylvania](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/REG-L-SoccerShapiro124.jpg\")
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro speaks during a press conference announcing Pennsylvania World Cup Fan Zones in Pittsburgh, Reading and Scranton on Thursday, March 26, 2026, at the DoubleTree by Hilton, 701 Penn St. (BILL UHRICH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n
The press release notes the three fan zones will \u201camplify and complement Philadelphia\u2019s 39-day FIFA Fan Festival at Lemon Hill Park \u2014 extending the World Cup\u2019s energy and economic impact far beyond Southeastern Pennsylvania.\u201d<\/p>\n
The free fan zones will offer large-screen broadcasts of FIFA World Cup 2026 Knockout Round matches, live entertainment, interactive soccer fan experiences and more, per the release.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s exciting news for local soccer fans, coaches, elected officials and business leaders alike.<\/p>\n
Former longtime University of Scranton men\u2019s soccer coach Steve Klingman, who coached the Royals for 22 seasons from the early-1970s to the mid-1990s and currently serves as the university\u2019s assistant athletics facilities manager, touted the Scranton Fan Zone\u2019s potential to galvanize the next generation of soccer players in a region already rich with talent.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of kids playing, and obviously I hope that it generates a lot of interest in the game,\u201d said Klingman, who also coaches the Abington Heights Middle School girls soccer team. \u201cIf this is a really nice event, for young kids it can really make an impression. \u2026 You\u2019re looking for things like this, really positive things, to influence kids and get them pointed in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n
Klingman also said he\u2019s a supporter of kids playing multiple sports.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I think this gives a chance for somebody that maybe doesn\u2019t know where he wants to go in terms of athletics \u2014 all of the sudden now he sees how great the soccer is internationally and nationally \u2014 and it can really influence a boy (or) girl in terms of picking up the sport,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/STT-L-STREETS-1015-02.jpg\")
An aerial view of the Lackawanna County Courthouse and the surrounding streets in downtown Scranton Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)<\/p>\n
In a statement, Scranton Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti said she and other officials are \u201cgrateful to Philadelphia Soccer 2026 for recognizing what we\u2019ve always known: Scranton is a city that knows how to show up, welcome people, and create something special.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be selected as an official destination for World Cup fans puts Scranton on a global stage, and it\u2019s something our residents should be proud of,\u201d she continued. \u201cIn a year when we\u2019re celebrating 160 years as a city alongside America\u2019s 250th birthday, this recognition means even more. It also means a real boost for our local economy, with more visitors supporting our small businesses, restaurants and hotels.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re ready to welcome people from around the world, show off who we are, and make sure World Cup fans leave with a great impression of Scranton,\u201d Cognetti said.<\/p>\n
In the press release announcing the fan zones, Lackawanna County Commissioner Bill Gaughan said the Scranton zone \u201cgives our community a front-row seat to the excitement of the World Cup at one of the region\u2019s most beautiful outdoor landmarks,\u201d Courthouse Square.<\/p>\n
Reached Thursday, Gaughan said he was approached last year about Scranton potentially hosting a fan zone. That prospect becoming reality is a big deal for downtown small businesses and economic development more broadly, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re anticipating thousands and thousands of people from all over the region, and even into New Jersey and New York, to come and spend a couple days in Scranton and in Lackawanna County, (staying) in our hotels, eating in our restaurants, going out for a drink in some of our establishments and enjoying all that we have to offer,\u201d Gaughan said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a huge benefit for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sharing that view, Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce President Bob Durkin said being chosen as a fan zone site shows that decision makers recognize \u201cScranton is an exciting downtown\u201d where there\u2019s \u201cso many positive things happening from an economic-development standpoint (and) from a residential-development standpoint.\u201d<\/p>\n
He recalled being in New York City\u2019s Times Square during a prior World Cup and witnessing the palpable excitement of fans there.<\/p>\n
\u201cSoccer \u2026 is such a magnet for people of all different cultures, of all different economic status, that I\u2019m excited for Scranton because this shows what a balanced community we are,\u201d Durkin said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s going to be fun, it\u2019s going to be raucous.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know how these things are supposed to work and it\u2019s not just going to be a bunch of TVs at Courthouse Square and that\u2019s the draw,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be drawing people from throughout the region, no question about it, and that is is going to pay dividends for all of our restaurants, our boutique retail, our hotels and it\u2019s going to be exciting. And then the other part of it is it\u2019s also going to draw some people into the city who might not otherwise have come to downtown Scranton, and they are going to start to see the kinds of amenities that we have.\u201d<\/p>\n
In anticipation of the fan zone announcement, Gaughan said county and city officials have been and will continue discussing how to execute the fan zone concept safely, as with any large event. The first fan zone activities on the square will take place July 4, the day after the county\u2019s annual \u201cScrantastic Spectacular\u201d Independence Day celebration there.<\/p>\n
The massive outdoor screen to broadcast World Cup matches will likely be erected on the North Washington Avenue side of the square, Gaughan said, noting smaller screens may be located in other areas around the square as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you have so many youth organizations that are really committed to soccer, all the high schools that have soccer teams and there\u2019s soccer clubs, (and) we\u2019re going to get them involved and to participate in this,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s not just going to be to come downtown and to watch the game. There\u2019s going to be activities. This is going to be a family-friendly event for kids.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scranton Fan Zone activities will take place July 4, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; July 5, from 2-9 p.m.; July 6, from 1-11 p.m.; July 18, from 3-8 p.m.; and July 19, from 2-6 p.m.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to promote soccer,\u201d Gaughan said. \u201cWe want to promote wellness and health and fitness and the game of soccer overall.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jared Montalto of the Reading Eagle contributed to this report<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Local and visiting soccer lovers alike should flock to downtown Scranton this July when Lackawanna County Courthouse Square…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":149778,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[201,182,139,28,178,180,179],"class_list":["post-149777","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scranton","tag-lackawanna-county","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-scranton","tag-scranton-headlines","tag-scranton-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149777","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=149777"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149777\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/149778"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=149777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=149777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=149777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}