San Pedro Square World Cup watch parties relocated for Sunday's matches
San Pedro Square World Cup watch parties relocated for Sunday's matches
The city of San Jose and the mayor announced on Friday morning that they are relocating watch parties at the wildly popular San Pedro Square Market to a venue about a mile away.
SAN JOSE, Calif. - The city of San Jose and the mayor announced on Friday morning that they are relocating watch parties at the wildly popular San Pedro Square Market to a venue about a mile away.
New locations
What we know:
Raw: San Jose police tackle, pepper spray rowdy crowd
Video footage from the scene captured San Jose police officers tackling individuals to the ground, deploying pepper spray on crowd members, and arresting a handful of people who refused to clear the streets. Police had asked the crowd to disperse.
The new venue, only for Sunday's matches, will be held about a mile away from downtown at the Discovery Meadow, 180 Woz Way, and SAP Center, and 525 W. Santa Clara Street. Sunday's matches are between Mexico and England, and Brazil and Norway.
Mayor Matt Mahan, in a statement, reiterated that while San Pedro Square Market will not broadcast the World Cup on Sunday outside, as has been the custom since the matches began on June 11, the restaurants and bars will be open for business.
Watch parties will resume at San Pedro Square Market on Monday, the city said.
Move comes after chaos
Big picture view:
A massive soccer ball and TV screen are set up in San Jose's San Pedro Square, the epicenter of Bay Area World Cup watch parties. July 1, 2026
The one-day move comes after a chaotic situation Tuesday night, where two people got stabbed, revelers surrounded an ambulance and police in riot gear used pepper spray on crowd members after Mexico beat Ecuador in the World Cup match that night.
San Jose police responded to multiple fights and fireworks were being set off in the streets.
Until that point, however, San Pedro Square had been the Bay Area epicenter of World Cup watch parties.
For weeks, crowds of up to 30,000 people at a time have come to downtown San Jose to watch the soccer games on a grassy carpet in front of large TV screens, with barely any problems.
In fact, many have remarked on how peaceful and positive the crowds have behaved.
SAN JOSE, CA - JUNE 12: Football fans gather to watch USA and Paraguay at San Pedro Square for a FIFA World Cup watch party on June 12, 2026 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
Other venues
What's next:
Mahan pitched the relocation as an opportunity to watch the games in roomier venues with more room to "gather, cheer, and celebrate together as World Cup excitement continues to build across San José."
Discovery Meadow will show both Mexico vs. England and Brazil vs. Norway, while SAP Center will show Mexico vs. England.
Tickets are required for each event and are available online for both the Discovery Meadow and SAP Center watch parties. The ticket reservations are free for up to four people.
More information here.
The Source: City of San Jose, prior KTVU reporting, visual evidence