Photo: Carlos Muñoz.
Cape Verdean fans watched the national team play at the PVD Fan Zone in Providence, R.I.
I’m into the World Cup more than usual this year, mostly because the kids and grandkids are but also because so many fun things are happening close to home.
Carlos R. Muñoz wrote recently at the Boston Globe that the fan zone in Providence, Rhode Island, for example, has not only been fun but a great unifier.
“Since the World Cup began,” he wrote, “fans of international football have flooded into the PVD Fan Zone at Station Park in Providence, turning an underused green space into what Mayor Brett Smiley calls the best display of the city’s ‘rich diversity.’
“The Fan Zone has attracted more than 70,000 visitors, and after the FIFA Fan Festival Boston shut down following the end of the World Cup group stage, the Providence spot is the only remaining FIFA-sanctioned event outside Boston Stadium.
“FIFA required host cities to run fan festivals throughout the tournament, which ends with the World Cup Final on July 19, but relaxed its requirements because of funding, according to the Sports Business Journal.
“ ‘From the outset, FIFA worked closely with Host Cities and local stakeholders to help shape meaningful fan experiences beyond the stadiums that are community-led, fan-oriented and aligned with the spirit of the FIFA World Cup,’ FIFA wrote in an email. …
“A fan festival costs about $1 million a day to operate, according to Fortune. The PVD Fan Zone costs about a third of that amount, according to Joe Wilson, the director of Art, Culture and Tourism for the City of Providence, and producer of the Fan Zone. City officials have committed to keeping it open for the full World Cup.
“Wilson said that cities struggled to pay for security and to make sure that city service costs were being covered. Station Park is located between the Amtrak/MBTA train station, the State House, and Providence Place mall and is an open area that is not typically used for events.
“ ‘Every city who had some kind of interface with FIFA and the World Cup were grappling with a variety of challenges related to budgets, scheduling, and safety,’ Wilson said. ‘One piece that made us say “39 days” is that we already have infrastructure footprint that we cannot move without using cranes that we’re securing 24/7. If we have to secure it, we might as well be open.’
“Providence did an economic impact assessment of life in the city two years ago, according to Wilson, and found that between 5 and 9 p.m. the city is ‘as international a city as Los Angeles’ with communities that have rich, strong immigrant populations who love football. …
“Wilson said the state’s ‘built-in audiences’ and proximity to Boston Stadium attracted groups like the Tartan Army and Ghana fans to Providence. Ghana’s national football team is staying at the Graduate Hotel [in Providence] and practices at Bryant University [in Smithfield].
“ ‘This is the first time this format of a World Cup is taking place over a continent, so even down to the logistics of this, we’re producing the singularly largest sustained event in the history of the city,’ Wilson said. …
“The World Cup has been a unifying event, Smiley said. ‘In the context of a moment where there’s so much stress and strife and division, this has been a really wonderful moment for communities to come together,’ he said. ‘It’s been entirely peaceful and family friendly, and just a nice and joyful occasion.’ …
” ‘We’re not doing this to make money for the city itself, and if the Fan Zone proper breaks even in terms of city impact, but all our businesses thrive, then it will have been a success,’ Smiley said. ‘We’ll have a full accounting of the city’s investment in the Fan Zone by the time we’re done and I’m optimistic that we’ll cover a lot of our expenses.
“City Councilman John Goncalves, whose ward covers much of downtown Providence, said the Fan Zone has been an incredible celebration of soccer, culture, and community.
“ ‘As Team Cape Verde, we’ve seen firsthand how the Fan Zone has united thousands of people around pride, identity, and joy,’ he said. ‘The energy has been incredible.’ …
“Smiley said the turnout for the Cape Verdean matches is one of his tournament highlights.
“ ‘That was a near record attendance night,’ he said. ‘We think we had about 8,000 fans that evening, and not only did I get to see and experience that energy, but to have 8,000 fans at night in a place with adult beverages and have zero issues.’ ”
More at the Globe, here.
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