From Insight to Activation: Centennial Yards and the Countdown to FIFA 2026
This image is from the Centennial Yards website. Click to visit.
From the Cosm website. Click to visit.
Centennial Yards is one of the most ambitious urban redevelopments in the country—and in 2023, we had the chance to contribute to its early activation strategy. Hoffman Strategy Group’s team came on board to bring retail, restaurant, and entertainment analytics to the planning process, helping the leasing and investment teams quantify spending potential and shape the right mix of uses ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. With Cosm under construction and a lineup of restaurants and brew pubs opening or announcing plans, that early strategy is starting to take shape. This post shares a few thoughts on how data-driven insights helped build momentum—and what it means for placemaking in downtown Atlanta and beyond.
Setting the Stage
From FIFA website. Click to visit.
In 2023, Hoffman Strategy Group had the opportunity to work with LA-based CIM Group and Centennial Yards Company, the owner and master developer behind Atlanta’s transformative Centennial Yards project. Our role was to conduct a retail market analysis focused on identifying potential spending demand and sales leakage in the Downtown Atlanta area—and to translate those insights into strategies for tenant clustering at Centennial Yards.
The timing was critical. With the 2026 FIFA World Cup on the horizon and Atlanta set to host matches, the goal was clear: help the team attract and open the right mix of retail, restaurant, and entertainment tenants ahead of the global spotlight. Our analysis became a key tool for the leasing and marketing teams and was used in multiple ways across the development partnership.
Our Role and Approach
CIM Group brought Hoffman Strategy Group on board to analyze retail expenditure demand and sales leakage in Downtown Atlanta—and to help translate those insights into tenant clustering strategies for Centennial Yards. The analysis focused on estimating overall spending potential from five key groups in and around the district: residents, daytime workers, college students, overnight hotel guests, and daily visitors.
We then compared this consumer spending potential to estimated sales across food establishments, beverage operators, entertainment venues, and retail businesses in the area. The difference between what people could spend and what was actually being captured pointed to either sales leakage (spending leaving the area) or spending attraction (dollars drawn in from elsewhere).
Our findings provided a foundation for shaping leasing and activation strategies—with the assumption that Centennial Yards would open its first phase ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The goal was to ensure the right mix of uses would be in place to serve both daily life and the global audience arriving in Atlanta.
Market Momentum and Opportunity
Centennial Yards is more than just another mixed-use development—it’s anchored by world-class cultural assets and quality-of-life amenities that set it apart. That’s a big reason we’re seeing strong growth in residential interest and office tenancy, driven by the area’s emerging live/work appeal.
Our analysis pointed to a clear target audience: upscale and affluent professionals, from singles and couples to young families. The opportunity for Centennial Yards is to differentiate itself within Atlanta’s dense urban market—not just through real estate, but through experience. That means curating food, beverage, and entertainment operators that resonate with an active, wellness-minded, and sports-oriented lifestyle.
With the 2026 FIFA World Cup on the horizon, the timing creates a rare window to launch this kind of place-based identity—one that captures the energy of the moment while setting a foundation for long-term success.
Conclusion: Lessons for Other Markets
Centennial Yards offers more than a case study in timing—it’s a reminder that the best development strategies start with a deep understanding of people, place, and potential. When you can connect data-driven insights to real-world behavior, especially in a dynamic urban setting, you give leasing teams, investors, and planners a clearer path to creating something that sticks.
For developers looking to activate large-scale projects in advance of a major event—or simply aiming to build energy and identity around an emerging district—the lesson is clear: lead with insight, not guesswork. Know your market, know your moment, and curate a tenant mix that meets people where they are, and where they're headed.
Let’s Talk
If you're working on a project that needs to tie strategy to activation—whether ahead of a global event or simply to move from plan to momentum—we would be glad to connect. Reach out any time. This is the kind of work we love doing.
