The U.S. men’s national team’s Copa America clash with Panama and the presidential debate are expected to cause a traffic nightmare in Atlanta on Thursday, with both events taking place a few hours — and a few miles apart.
In anticipation of the unique doubleheader, the Atlanta Police Department issued a statement on Tuesday encouraging anyone who plans to be out and about in the city to plan ahead and take public transportation or use rideshare apps.
“If you are planning an evening out in Atlanta, for the game, dinner or any other of our offerings, we encourage you to plan ahead and anticipate limited parking and heavier than usual traffic,” the statement read in part. “There will be several road closures in the areas surrounding the debate and your route could be impacted. Give yourself extra time to reach your destination and plan for parking spaces to fill quickly.”
The USMNT’s game kicks off at 6 p.m. local time at Mercedes Benz Stadium, which seats 42,500 for soccer matches but can expand up to 71,000, as it did for Argentina’s 2-0 win over Canada last week. It is currently unclear how many people plan to attend the Copa America group stage encounter but MARTA, the city’s public transportation system, will run extra trains to accommodate the crowd. The extra trains will begin running two hours before kickoff.
“MARTA will provide additional rail service to get fans to and from the match quickly and safely,” the organization said in a statement. “Traffic in Atlanta is expected to be heavier than usual Thursday evening due to the soccer match and the presidential debate at the Turner Broadcasting campus in midtown. The U.S. Secret Service is expected to direct lane and street closures near the campus, with the potential for rolling roadblocks on the downtown connector.”
Three hours later and barely three miles away at CNN’s Atlanta studio, the presidential debate between President Joe Biden and Republican candidate Donald Trump takes place. Though the debate will not have a crowd and will not actually overlap with the game in terms of time slots, road closures related to the event are expected to add to the traffic backlog the city is likely to experience on Thursday.
The Americans won their Copa opener against Bolivia on Sunday and can clinch a spot in the round of 16 with a win Thursday.
