Watching the World Cup Downtown an Easy Goal
Ed Fuentes
From ESPN Zone at LA Live to Cafe De Camacho at El Pueblo's Olvera Street, downtown businesses large and small are hoping to harness World Cup Fever.
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — Over the next four weeks, Downtown's sports bars will take on a multi-cultural hue, as fans wearing the colors of their favorite World Cup teams come together to watch live matches from South Africa.
ESPN is taking World Cup coverage seriously, offering live broadcasts of every game across ESPN2, ABC, and ESPN Deportes. Univision has the Spanish-language rights, so ESPN Deportes will call the games in Portuguese.
That makes ESPN Zone at L.A. Live the logical choice to watch soccer, beginning with Friday's 7am match between South Africa and Mexico. Los Angeles Galaxy assistant coach Cobi Jones will be signing free autographs for all soccer fans at 9:45am.
It may be harder to find a table during matches with the Korean team, as organizations from K-Town have adopted ESPN Zone and expected to fill the venue.
The restaurant plans to offer a breakfast buffet during early morning contests. Doors open 15 minutes before the first match of the day.
Over at 801 S. Grand, Big Wangs will be similarly open regardless of start time. Doors open 30 minutes prior to the day's first match.
Up the street at 613 S. Grand, Casey’s Irish Pub has always been a destination for soccer fans. They won't disappoint during the World Cup, opening at 6am, with the kitchen starting to serve breakfast at 7am.
Crewest, the graf-art gallery currently running an exhibition celebrating soccer, adds its own twist to the coverage. They will be open at 6:30am for Friday's opening match and will offer viewing parties during select elimination matches over the course of the tournament.
Other Downtown spots will be also be getting in on the tournament action, offering a more partisan game selection. Cafe De Camacho at Olvera Street will be open at 6am, and will have its one HD television set to games with Latin American countries. British-themed Royal Clayton’s at 1855 Industrial will open at 11am weekday and 10am weekends, and around the corner The French Garden at 1936 E. 7th St will open at 10am, in time for any match with France. “Who else would we watch?” asks the voice on the other end of the phone.
Lisa Unsworth on June 10, 2010, at 06:34PM – #1
Wow! What a great party this is going to be! South Africa are great hosts and I can hardly wait! Go USA! I will use Soccer Near Me from itunes to find parties and viewing near me. Check it out! Very Cool!
Jasmijn on June 13, 2010, at 11:01PM – #2
Great! Most of the games I'm interested in seem to be at 4:30 a.m. local time, so I've been hoping somewhere in DTLA would show them and I wouldn't have to get up even earlier and go to Hollywood. Will give Big Wang's a try and see if they really do open that early.
Jasmijn on June 15, 2010, at 08:13AM – #3
Re. Big Wang's: they did! and served breakfast with it!