Ahead of Atlanta's eight World Cup matches, Mayor Andre Dickens' office has announced legislation establishing a Downtown Enterprise Zone - a mechanism designed to convert the coming surge of visitor spending into a durable funding stream for the blocks that generate it.
The zone covers roughly 30 acres between Centennial Yards and Underground Atlanta, south of Woodruff Park. Its rough borders are Marietta Street NW, Peachtree Street SW, Trinity Avenue SW, and Ted Turner Drive and Forsyth Street SW. The geography was designed by the State Department of Community Affairs.
Inside those boundaries, the city can capture up to 5 percent of gross sales generated by qualifying businesses - those that collect sales and use tax - and reinvest the proceeds into projects and programs in the area. There is no expiration date on the collection.
How much money that actually produces depends entirely on how many qualifying businesses operate in the zone and what they sell, which makes the district's ongoing retail build-out the variable that determines whether the tool works. The zone is part of the mayor's broader Neighborhood Reinvestment Initiative.
David Cummings, CEO of Atlanta Ventures, is among those backing it. His company controls 58 historic mixed-use buildings in the area and has focused its redevelopment on small local tenants: five were open at the time of the announcement, with another 11 - including the third location of taqueria El Tesoro - due by June.
"We are using every tool at our disposal to bring investment to high opportunity areas like downtown to create whole, healthy neighborhoods that will support residents, visitors, and a growing workforce," Dickens said. The zone "will strategically harness the revenue and momentum of the World Cup events to create investment for new affordable housing and small businesses."
Councilmember Jason Dozier, whose District 4 takes in downtown, framed the measure carefully. "No single policy is a panacea, and this initiative is one part of a broader, coordinated effort," he said. The legislation "helps ensure that the economic activity generated by major events translates into lasting benefits and sustained momentum for residents and businesses that call downtown home."
That is the real test. Downtown has hosted global events before and watched the money leave with the crowds. The Enterprise Zone is an attempt to make some of it stay.
Original reporting by Josh Green for Urbanize Atlanta, published April 2026.
