Two Atlanta dates, one red-hot welcome: Spain draws fence-line fans in Chattanooga

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — They may be out of town Monday, but excitement over ‘La Roja’ has only ramped up in the Scenic City.

The Spanish National Team has made Chattanooga their basecamp, training for FIFA World Cup games at the Baylor School.

Our cameras were rolling on Friday when the team buses pulled up to the Embassy Suites.

Fans lined the nearby fences cheering for their arrival and hoping to see some of the biggest names in soccer.

The Spanish National Team’s presence is still lingering in downtown Chattanooga, with signs, road closures, and just the chatter on the streets after a big arrival.

Spain is already on the road for their final friendlies match against Peru.

The team of stars known across the globe is training right here in Chattanooga while they fight for a world title.

The impact of that is being felt in places that sports don’t normally reach, like the candy shop Rocket Fizz just down the road from their hotel.

“It kind of makes the city feel special a lot of the ways. It’s like there’s not often when you get like international team or anything important other than like a single celebrity coming and doing a show, but this feels like something. They could have picked anywhere in the US, or they could have been put anywhere in the US, but they’re here,” Collin Jackson says.

And Spain is, of course, here in Chattanooga, but they’ll also be in Atlanta for a few of their World Cup matches.

Spain begins World Cup Group stage play next week.

The Red Fury is set to play Cabo Verde in Atlanta on the 15th at noon.

Then, on the 21st, Spain plays in Atlanta again against Saudi Arabia.