Santana Row's FIFA pop-up and the Eastridge Center opening-day party both drew strong crowds on the tournament's first day — the first real test of San Jose's bet that neighborhood watch parties can move the needle for local businesses.

At Santana Row (333 Santana Row, San Jose), a FIFA pop-up store drew steady customers on the tournament's opening day. Store manager Manny Bhagat told NBC Bay Area the foot traffic was strong enough that the shop plans to stay through the end of July, past the July 19 final. Santana Row's own "Row Cup" — the district's five-week tournament activation, free and running through July 19 — is part of San Jose's broader "Kick Off in the Districts" watch-party program.

Across town at Eastridge Center (2200 Eastridge Loop), the watch party organized by the Tully Road Eastridge Business Association drew more people than the Santana Row gathering, per NBC Bay Area reporters on scene — though both venues were described as equally enthusiastic. Dilbreet Bhandal, who runs Great Kahn's and a Subway at Eastridge, said the crowds kept building through the day: "In the morning there wasn't that many people, and now it's so many people here." Eastridge's event was organized for the opening match; future dates have not been announced, so confirm with TREBA before planning a trip there later in the tournament.

The strategy is deliberate. San Jose's "Kick Off in the Districts" program spans 11 business districts across all 10 council districts — Japantown, Little Saigon, Mexican Heritage Plaza, and Eastridge among them — designed to turn World Cup foot traffic into lasting neighborhood business. City Councilmember Domingo Candelas described it as a long game: get people into local shops now, and keep them coming back after the games end.

The guaranteed all-tournament option is downtown: San Pedro Square Market has 20,000-plus RSVPs and is showing all 104 matches through July 19, free. For Eastridge, park off Tully Road — the Eastridge Loop entrance bottlenecks on busy match days.