 |
Match: Australia/Egypt, July 3, 11am I heard there was a great little spot to watch games during lunch at the Metropolitan Tract Plaza (SE corner of University and 5th). On the light rail to Westlake I ordered a sandwich from Downtowndelimarket, picked it up along with a drink and snacks, and headed over to find a giant screen that wasn’t on. Seems their last day was yesterday. Okay, then, on to Westlake Park, my backup plan. They say online that they show all the games, which is true. There are multiple food trucks and lots of seating and a little squad of downtown ambassadors answering questions and spraying down the tables once someone leaves. But the giant screen only comes out on days when there’s a match at Lumen. Today there was a single small screen near a coffee stand and very few fans. Maybe if they advertised this place they’d get more. Just an idea. I ate half the sandwich and was not a fan – the cole slaw on the Reuben variant was too sweet for me. At halftime I took Link to check out Occidental Mall on a day with no match at Lumen. The streets have cars, the portapotties are gone as near as I can tell, but the Mall and Square are still pedestrians only and the screen setup is still there, with its small 21+ viewing area. Although it wasn’t as crowded as Wednesday, there was a sizeable number of Egypt fans with a smattering of Aussie fans as well as a lot of generic soccer fans like me. Many people were able to sit down, at least for most of the match, while there was a good cheering section and a few noisemakers to give a vaguely stadium vibe. At times it looked to me like most of the block was full. For a no hassle public watch party, Occidental seems the place to be downtown. After the match there was no line for the fancy new public toilets, so I used one. It was clean, well stocked and easy to use, as advertised. submitted by /u/Worldly_General_5672 |
