Raleigh will debut new LED screen with World Cup match watch party
Update: The city is postponing the Soccer Fan Fest until Dec. 18 due to expected rain on the original date. The story has been updated.
The city of Raleigh’s new outdoor LED screen will debut Dec. 18 at the inaugural Soccer Fan Fest.
Raleigh bought the screen after a Downtown Raleigh Alliance study recommended it, among other ways, to help bring people back downtown after the COVID-19 pandemic decline.
It will be used to show the final match of 2022 World Cup match, one of many watch parties planned throughout the Triangle. (The fan fest was originally scheduled for Nov. 25 but was pushed back due to inclement weather.)
“This is an opportunity at a time of the year when we are visiting families for folks to come out and enjoy the spectacle of the World Cup,” said Ainsley Worrell, the health and wellness program director in the city of Raleigh’s Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources Department.
The Soccer Fan Fest starts at 9:30 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 18, at Moore Square. The event will include watching the game on the LED screen, soccer-related vendors, arts, crafts, a beer garden, food trucks and a photo op with a replica World Cup trophy.
The Raleigh City Council voted in November 2021 to spend $80,000 for the 14 foot by 8 foot used, mobile LED screen and to find a potential permanent location downtown for a larger screen.
The current portable screen is located on a truck trailer and can be used at other city venues and events, including for movies in the park, said Worrell.
“This is an opportunity for the community to get together, to be together and just have a good time,” he said. “It is a great space to be in considering where we’ve been the last couple of years.”
Want to go?
What: Soccer Fan Fest
When: 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 18.
Where: Moore Square, 201 S. Blount St.
Cost: The event is free but people are encouraged to register at raleighnc.gov/parks/soccer-fan-fest. People who register will be entered into a drawing for a kid-size soccer ball.
People can also donate to various groups including the NC Food Bank, Note in the Pocket and Raleigh Parks Play It Forward Financial Assistance Program
This story was originally published November 21, 2022 at 2:58 PM.
