World Cup fever is mounting in the Bay Area as local transit systems break ridership records and cities prepare for massive influxes of international soccer fans. San Jose officials announced plans to host the city’s largest World Cup viewing party yet at San Pedro Square, gearing up to welcome more than 25,000 fans for the upcoming group stage match between Mexico and South Korea on Thursday. The announcement follows a packed afternoon at the square, where large crowds gathered to watch England face off against Croatia. “It’s the World Cup, who wouldn’t wanna to be here to see people from all over the world and other cultures and watching great soccer?” said San Jose resident Chad Fegley. To manage the anticipated capacity crowds, the city is implementing strict security measures and expansive overflow protocols. Metal barriers have been installed at all entrances to San Pedro Square to prevent vehicle access, and municipal officials promised an increased presence of both police officers and private security guards. “We have San Pedro Square, and we have the street next to it open up,” said Tommy O’Hare, San Jose’s sports and special events director. “We’re also planning to open up Sharks Way and put up more screens there and have another additional overflow screen area as well.” O’Hare added that if the crowds continue to swell, the city has contingency plans to erect additional viewing screens within walking distance of the main square. The surge in local soccer enthusiasm is already testing regional infrastructure. More than 39,000 fans traveled by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) light rail system to attend the Jordan-Austria match at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium in Santa Clara. The single-day total set an all-time ridership record for VTA, eclipsing the agency’s previous record set during the Super Bowl. “We think it’s because we had a lot of visitors from other countries who ride trains more readily than they do here,” said VTA spokesperson Stacey Hendler Ross. While VTA successfully met its operational goal of clearing the stadium crowds in under two hours after the game ended, the transit agency is adjusting its strategy for upcoming matches based on early logistical hurdles. “On Saturday we learned that it’s not just enough to have ambassadors out there telling people where to go,” Ross said. “We also need more signs, so we put up big, tall signs that tell people go this way to Milpitas and that way to Mountain View.” Transit officials are also warning travelers that service will not run indefinitely. VTA plans to explicitly notify passengers that trains will cease operations three hours after matches conclude, advising fans not to rely on the light rail system late into the night. ...read more read less