For the second time in a week, Underground Atlanta has handed itself over to Argentina. With La Albiceleste facing England in Wednesday's 3 p.m. World Cup semifinal at Atlanta Stadium, the historic downtown venue is running a two-day festival — from Tuesday afternoon until 2 a.m., then again from 11 a.m. Wednesday with a watch party for ticketless fans and a post-match celebration running to 11 p.m.
The scale has snowballed. Owner Shaneel Lalani says the original plan was something modest, but with the official Fan Festival at Centennial Olympic Park selling out and unable to cater to a single country, Underground became the de facto national headquarters. The round-of-16 party after Argentina's stoppage-time comeback against Egypt ran until 3 a.m. and drew about 10,000 fans over two days; Lalani expects double that for the semifinal, with the city closing neighboring streets to handle it.
The supporter groups came to him. Hinchas Argentinos — fans drawn from across Argentina — adopted the venue for tailgates, a flag-raising ceremony and rallies with fireworks, drums and chants. One member, Oscar of Mar del Plata, has road-tripped a fully decked-out Argentina van from Kansas City to Dallas to Miami to Atlanta and back again, calling the following a movement fueled by people who save for four years to be here. Piedmont Park had hosted the gatherings earlier in the tournament, but it was too far from the stadium and too tight for the crowds.
The moment carries weight for the venue itself. Lalani bought the 50-plus-year-old property six years ago at about 5% occupancy; it now sits at 65%, with nightlife anchors like the Masquerade and MJQ drawing young crowds back downtown after dark. For longtime tenants, the scenes recall the building's heyday — Soon Tan of China Breeze, whose family has operated there for more than 30 years, says the energy takes him straight back to working alongside his father during the 1996 Olympics.
The fan march to Atlanta Stadium will step off from Underground, and win or lose, it will end there too. Lalani is already eyeing the next benchmark — the 2028 Super Bowl — and pitching the space as a celebration hub for any country, any fan base. For an immigrant whose family's first Atlanta outing was to Underground, hosting the world here is, as he puts it, full circle.
Original reporting: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (2026-07-15)