In conjunction with their fourth quarterly briefing, The Atlanta Beltline held a World Cup-themed panel on Dec. 11 at The Chandelier Room at Monday Night Garage in West End.

Moderated by local photographer Cam Kirk, the panel featured Beltline President and CEO Clyde Higgins, Grammy award-winning songwriter and producer Dallas Austin, City of Atlanta Director of Initiative and External Relations and interim Director of Showcase Atlanta Lamar Stewart, and Soccer in the Streets founder Kaseem Ladipo. They discussed the Beltline’s role in bolstering small businesses, fostering relationships between locals and World Cup visitors, and maintaining an impact that lasts beyond the sporting event next summer. 

The World Cup is estimated to bring around 300,000 visitors to Atlanta in June and July 2026. As one of 16 host cities, Atlanta will host eight World Cup matches at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, including one semifinal. 

By the World Cup, the Beltline will feature 17 miles of continuous trail. Additionally, the Beltline has created 30,000 jobs to date, not including an estimated 40,000 temporary construction jobs. 

“We’ve got to think about what Atlanta’s going to look like in the future,” Higgins said. 

“The World Cup is an economic engine for Atlanta,” explained Kelvin Collins, Vice President of Economic Development for the Atlanta Beltline. The World Cup is one of Atlanta’s largest tourism pushes since the 1996 Olympics, and one that Collins said will “strengthen the city as a global beacon.”

The event at Monday Night Garage maintained an infectious energy that felt genuinely local. Songs by Atlanta-based artists like OutKast and T.I. soundtracked the evening. Attendees were encouraged to wear their favorite soccer team’s jersey, but many took the opportunity to wear sharp, colorful outfits in bold shades. A few younger children slept in their parents’ arms, while others kicked a soccer ball around an alcove adjacent to the bar. 

The event kicked off with a lengthy progress report from a series of Beltline leaders.

For example, the Beltline will launch its Commercial Affordability Consortium and the Beltline Business Facade pARTnership Grant next year. Beltline Vice President Lynette Reed said that affordable housing remains one of the team’s highest priorities as the Beltline approaches completion. Mayor Andre Dickens wants to extend the Beltline’s Tax Allocation Districts through 2030. 

Kim Wilson, Vice President of Design and Construction, announced that 85 percent of the trail is either complete or under construction, and that the Southside trail should be completed by the World Cup next summer. Additionally, two parks on Atlanta’s west side are currently in development. 

Collins unveiled the Beltline Information Hub, a “digital front door” that will help prepare residents and guests for the World Cup matches. Collins also announced the second cohort application of the Small Business Readiness Program, discussed the Beltline Marketplace, and unveiled the Beltline Fest, a free, weeks-long event providing a “connected circuit of celebration.” 

More FIFA 2026 World Cup coverage.

After the updates, Kirk segued into the panel portion of the night. He asked the panelists questions, including what success looks like after the World Cup, how they see Atlanta’s history, music, and culture shaping the city’s identity on a world stage in 2026, citywide prep and planning updates, and how World Cup activations will strengthen the Beltline’s broader mission. 

The brunt of the discussion focused on uplifting small businesses and local creators. Stewart emphasized that plenty of resources are available to small businesses that openly communicate with the city. FIFA Fan Fest, for example, is a state entity, so businesses interested in working the event need to be a supplier within the city, state, and county. Additionally, any business interested in hosting watch parties must obtain a viewing party license through the Mayor’s Office of Special Events. 

“There’s so much out there and we want to help,” Stewart said. 

Kirk and Ladipo also discussed how the Beltline can become a launchpad for youth soccer. Soccer drives economics for local communities, like playing soccer in neighborhood parks and pubs with amateur teams seeking places to regularly host matches.

“We need to show that we don’t need to find a field to play,” Ladipo said. 

Finally, the panel addressed the importance of promoting a variety of communities and actual neighborhoods in Atlanta. The Beltline is intentionally hosting Beltline Fest in the Pittsburgh neighborhood, located in the city’s southwest sector near Castleberry Hill, Adair Park, and Mechanicsville. 

The panel closed with a Q&A. Discussions with audience members ranged from bringing international soccer culture to Atlanta to concrete steps entrepreneurs can take to legally participate in World Cup activations. The panel also addressed how the Beltline’s ongoing projects and World Cup plans are being designed to include the neurodivergent population, particularly those on the autism spectrum.

“The games may happen at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, but the real magic will happen on the Beltline,” Collins said of the World Cup in Atlanta. 

The post Atlanta Beltline officials discuss preparing the pedestrian trail for the World Cup appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta.

On Dec. 5, FIFA held a televised drawing ceremony in Washington, D.C., that determined the 12 groups playing in the upcoming World Cup next year. It took another day, however, for FIFA to finalize the match schedule and determine which cities would host particular games. 

Atlanta will host eight World Cup matches in 2026 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium: five group stage games, two knockout stage games, and a semifinal. Teams in Groups A, C, H, and K were eligible to play in Atlanta during the group stage. While the lineup for Groups A and K has not been finalized due to qualifying match schedules, FIFA did include possible scenarios for the countries that may take those spots. 

Atlanta will start off strong on June 15, with a match between Spain and Cape Verde. Nearly a week later, Spain will grace Mercedes-Benz Stadium once again, facing off against Saudi Arabia. 

Related stories:
• Buckhead Village hosts watch party for 2026 World Cup draw
• More World Cup coverage from Rough Draft

On June 18, South Africa will play either Poland, Wales, or Finland, based on the results of the European Qualifier Playoffs in March. 

Haiti and Morocco will play in Atlanta on June 21. Metro Atlanta’s Haitian population is the second-highest Caribbean community in the state, behind Jamaica. 

On June 27, Uzbekistan will face either Congo, Jamaica, or New Caledonia based on the results of the Concacaf Qualifier Playoffs in March. 

Atlanta will also host two knockout matches after that stage begins on June 28: a round of 32 match on July 1 and a round of 16 match on July 7. The city’s participation in World Cup gameplay culminates in a semifinal match on July 15.

The post Check out the finalized 2026 World Cup match schedule for Atlanta appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta.

I’ve always loved watching movies. My parents gave birth to and fed that love—sometimes watching movies together at home, other times dropping me off at the theatre on Saturdays. I still remember seeing everything from Claudine to Sounder, Star Wars to E.T., Terms of Endearment to Die Hard, and one of my all-time favorites, The Color Purple, in the theatre when they first premiered.

This tradition sparked my interest in screenwriting and filmmaking, which led me to create a five-minute short film for a Sundance Collab class. That love and, in particular, that project serve as my entry point into this story and my closest personal analogy to endurance racing (unless you count the pressure of navigating I-285). What I discovered after yelling “cut” on the final scene was that filmmaking demanded strategy, planning, patience, quick thinking, and, yes, endurance—hours of work for every single minute of film.

However, I learned something invaluable: filmmaking is an art form built on collaboration and teamwork. So, it made perfect sense for me to watch F1: The Movie with Brad Pitt and Damson Idris as part of my preparation for my exchange with Ryan Hardwick, whose love for racing was also fed by his parents and began at home.

Hardwick is the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship LMGT3 Drivers’ Champion and 24 Hours of Le Mans winner. Tennessee-born and now an Atlanta transplant, Hardwick grew up racing dirt bikes and later jet skis. As he once referenced in an IG post, his family is deeply rooted in car racing: his maternal grandfather built race cars and owned a round-track team; his mother earned a National Championship; and his father raced cars and trucks alongside her for years. 

When he’s not behind the wheel of a Porsche 911 GT3 R, home for Hardwick is Buckhead, where he and his family live just a short drive (depending upon traffic) from his “day job” running Mountain Motorsports, a thriving business he and his co-owner expanded from East Tennessee to Alabama and into the greater Atlanta market. 

When relaxing, you might spot him at The Chastain, Lion’s Head, or one of my favorite sushi spots, Umi. For all the excitement of the racetrack and the bustle of business, Hardwick’s favorite place remains simple: at home, surrounded by his family, his favorite people. In that tradition, he has built a life that balances the intensity and competitiveness of global racing with the quiet solitude of family and community.

Ryan, congratulations on your recent wins at Le Mans and the FIA World Endurance Championship in Bahrain, in a comeback victory in what The Buckhead Paper described as the “Super Bowl” of endurance car racing.  In preparation, I looked at a lot of your videos and then watched F1: The Movie. Could you share with my readers what endurance car racing is and what it takes to win it, and if you feel the F1 film captures the sport realistically? 

Endurance racing is the ultimate team sport, and the drivers are just one aspect of the process. To be successful, it takes a team of people consisting of mechanics, engineers, designers, fabricators and data analysts. The cars, the crew and the drivers are pushed to the limits for races that last up to 24 hours straight, and any mistake during the course of the race can drastically change the outcome. To win at this level takes consistency, discipline, focus and meticulous attention to an abundance of details. The FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) is considered the ultimate level of endurance racing worldwide, with the manufacturers, teams and drivers competing for the title truly being the best in the world. In fact, many Formula 1 drivers, both current and previous, compete in the WEC.

As it relates to the movie, I thought F1 was great and did a really good job of depicting what it’s actually like to drive these types of race cars. In fact, the movie’s opening scene takes place at the Rolex 24 in Daytona, and I was racing in that exact event the same year the movie was filmed there. The Porsche team that I raced for previously was used to provide all the pit crew and engineers that you see in the film, and while the writers chose to use a fictional team name for the movie, the actual crew was from Wright Motorsports, which is the real-life team that I won the Rolex 24 with in 2022.

Talk about your journey from entrepreneurship to racing cars and achieving your recent wins? How have these journeys impacted each other, and how do you manage them? 

My journey in racing and my journey in business are deeply intertwined, fueling each other, both coming down to teamwork, endurance, and a shared competitive spirit. I’ve always been hooked on competing, and while I initially funded many of my racing endeavors myself, the success of Mountain Motorsports enabled me to attract sponsors and invest my time in more serious levels of racing. 

I truly believe that success comes from doing hard things repeatedly and putting in the work day in and day out, a mindset that has carried me through a 24-hour race and helped build Mountain Motorsports into the business it is today. On top of that mindset, though, both also require a strong team. For instance, at Le Mans, I drove nearly eight hours, but the victory was due to what my team achieved, including our engineers, pit crew, and entire support staff. 

It’s the same for Mountain Motorsports. Without my co-founder and best friend, Justin Price, and our incredible team of leaders and employees, we wouldn’t be where we are today.

When and how did you fall in love with the sport and realize you wanted to compete professionally?

I grew up riding dirt bikes with my Dad and entered my first motorcycle race at six years old. I raced dirt bikes as an amateur throughout most of my youth, then moved to jet ski racing as a teenager, where I won several amateur titles and a professional world championship. I didn’t start racing cars until 2015, but I’ve always been drawn to competition. There’s just something about people lining up and someone yelling “Go!” that has always lit a fire in me.

You made history as the first Atlantan to win the 24 Hours of LeMans in the LMGT3 class, the largest and most competitive division, to complete the Triple Crown of Racing, and then followed it up by winning the FIA Endurance World Championship. What are some surprising or interesting facts you’ve learned about Atlanta’s connection to endurance racing throughout your journey?

On the racing side, even though I’m usually traveling around the world for events like the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France or the 8 Hours of Bahrain, Atlanta is also home to my favorite race in North America: the Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. While Atlanta has a rich history in NASCAR and other forms of round‑track racing, I was surprised to find out that I was the first person from Atlanta to ever win the Le Mans. It’s a true honor to be the first, and hopefully I won’t be the last Atlantan to win that legendary race.

In looking at endurance racing as an art form, can you discuss the artistry involved in race car driving? What elevates it beyond being just a sport? Are there any parallels between mastering a racetrack and composing music, painting a canvas, or even performing as an actor?

This is a great question. Driving at the physical limit of what a car can do is a true art form. It requires a unique balance of nerves of steel and yet a gentle, precise touch and feel at the same time. You have to be able to process information incredibly quickly and react to it decisively yet calmly. If you get nervous, angry, or try to force something to happen, it usually doesn’t end well. When I’m at my best, my heartbeat slows, the noise and rumble of the engine seems to quiet, and my breathing is calm. That’s how I would describe being in “the zone.” It’s difficult to achieve that level of clarity every time I drive, but when it happens, I feel like I’m almost untouchable.

For more about Hardwick, you can follow him on his personal IG as well as Mountain Motorsports.

The post Take 5 with race car driver, entrepreneur Ryan Hardwick appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta.

Ten metro Atlanta public school teachers are heading to the SEC Championship Game this weekend courtesy of SONIC, which recently surprised the group with tickets.

The teachers — recognized for their impact on students and their respective communities at-large — also learned from the fast-food chain that they would each be receiving a $1,000 gift card, which will help cover classroom needs like books, learning tools and more.

The selected educators include Jisela Martinez (Woodland Elementary), Kenneth Williams (Callaway Elementary), Shereda Jeffries (KIPP Soul Campus), Natalie McPherson (Cartersville Elementary), Stephanie Minor (Salem Middle), Arria Stinson (Knight Elementary), Suhir Bruce (Austin Road Elementary), Ashley Dent (Benefield Elementary), Trenise Neely-Brown (Craig Elementary) and LaKeisha Sims (McGarrah Elementary).

“At SONIC, we believe in celebrating the people who make a real difference in their communities, and teachers are at the heart of that impact,” said Stuart Brown, executive director of the SONIC Foundation, the restaurant’s charitable entity that provides support to public education. 

“We’re thrilled to give these deserving educators a memorable game-day experience and provide additional funding to support their classrooms. Their passion, dedication and daily commitment to students truly embody the spirit of the Atlanta community.”

Prior to the game, the recipients will attend SONIC’s SEC Championship Tailgate activation at the Georgia World Congress Center, where they will take part in a ceremonial check presentation of their combined $10,000 in gift cards.

SONIC’s tailgate space will be open to the public during SEC Football Fanfare on Friday, Dec. 5 from 1–7 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 6 from 9 a.m.–4 p.m., and will feature food samples, a giant “Slush Slide” and an interactive pong ball toss game with prizes to be won.

The post SONIC surprises Atlanta teachers with SEC Championship tickets appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta.

FIFA’s Atlanta Host Committee and Atlanta United held an official watch party for the 2026 World Cup’s final draw at Buckhead Village on Friday, Dec. 5.

The U.S. National Men’s Team (USMNT) was placed into Group D with opening opponent Paraguay and Australia. The group’s fourth and final team won’t be determined until a playoff between Turkey, Romania, Slovakia and Kosovo in March.

Starting around 12:30 p.m., a large screen on Buckhead Avenue streamed Fox Sports’ coverage of the Final Draw event in Washington, D.C.

The event included a covered area lined with booths from organizations such as Atlanta United, Explore Georgia, and the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau. Many of the booths offered games and chances to win free items, such as baseball caps, koozies, and stickers. DJ EU manned the stage before the announcements, further amping up the crowd.

Sports commentator Mike Conti emceed, while Atlanta United goalkeeper Brad Guzan helped host the event, and fans were given an opportunity to meet U.S. player Walker Zimmerman. 

The watch party concluded with a drawing for two tickets to an official 2026 World Cup match in Atlanta.

As one of 16 host cities across North America, Atlanta will host eight matches, including a semifinal, next summer. The 2026 World Cup will feature 48 teams, a first for the event. 

The world’s teams were split into confederations based on their continent of origin. Not all contenders have been determined, as qualifiers are still ongoing. No two teams from the same confederation can land in the same group — that is, unless they encounter each other in the finals.

According to FIFA’s match schedule, Atlanta will host five group-stage games in total: one game from groups A, C, and K, and two games from group H. 

The amount of teams playing or split among host countries wasn’t FIFA’s only differentiation this year. During the ceremony, FIFA president Gianni Infantino presented U.S. President Donald Trump with the first-ever FIFA Peace Prize. Trump’s appearance drew mixed reactions from the crowd. 

Fabiola Flores, a Mexico fan, said she’s very excited to watch her team play next year. As a member of Group A, Mexico has a slight chance of playing in Atlanta’s corresponding match. 

“I have been watching the World Cup since I was little,” she said. “I’m super excited to see all the diversity flying in from all sorts of different countries.” 

Jason Wells, a longtime USMNT fan, enjoyed watching the draw with other local soccer fans. 

“The event was good. It was fun. The actual draw itself was really favorable for the U.S. as far as our opponents,” he said. “I think for the games, for the four groups that are going to be playing in Atlanta, there’s some very interesting matchups that could potentially be here.” 

Wells is also looking forward to the France-Senegal, Croatia-England, and USA-Paraguay matches. “I’m a big Miguel Almirón fan from here in Atlanta for Atlanta United, so I think [USA-Paraguay] is going to be a good matchup,” he said.

Frantzley Raymond, a lifelong Haiti fan, is excited for his team’s placement in Group C. “Today was my day off, so it was a great thing for me to be here and enjoy it,” he said.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will run from June 11 to July 19.

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