eye on business
There ’ s Nothing like Center Stage
Kris Johnson , AWB President
The Republican National Convention came to Minnesota in 2008 when I was leading the St . Paul Chamber of Commerce , and it was like the Super Bowl for five straight days . It brought thousands of visitors and the accompanying boost to the economy , but it also brought something intangible : stature .
This summer , the Seattle Mariners will put the city of Seattle and the state of Washington in the spotlight by hosting Major League Baseball ’ s 2023 All-Star Week . For five days , our state will lead off newscasts , trend on social media and occupy mindshare .
The opportunity to host the midsummer classic will not only provide a shot in the arm to the economy , but it ’ s also a great excuse to do something we haven ’ t done enough of the last few years : celebrate at scale . After three-plus years of a pandemic , I ’ m looking forward to seeing people returning to the downtown , packing the ball park and enjoying summer in Seattle .
Anticipation for this year ’ s baseball season started building in March when I joined a group of AWB members in Peoria , Ariz . for a Spring Training event with the Mariners .
We learned about the economic impact of sports , and we had a great time watching the players , everyone from young athletes who might be getting their only chance to play in the Big Leagues to established stars like Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodriguez . Many thanks to Fred Rivera , executive vice president and general counsel for the Mariners and an AWB board member , for making it happen . It was the first time we led such a trip , but it won ’ t be the last .
This is a state that ’ s been blessed to host a number of big events over the years , both sporting and otherwise . These kinds of events provide an opportunity for Washingtonians to tell our story .
One of the first , and likely still one of the biggest , was the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition . Way back in 1909 , just five years after AWB was founded , this world ’ s fair was held on what is now the University of Washington campus . More than
80,000 people attended the opening day ceremonies on June 1 . By the time it was over in October , more than 3.7 million people had visited .
In the decades since , Seattle hosted a second world ’ s fair in 1962 , Spokane had one of its own in 1974 , and there ’ s been a long list of major sporting events held here . Did you know the 1977 NFL Pro Bowl was in Seattle ?
Other major sporting events include the MLB All-Star games in 1979 ( at the Kingdome ) and 2001 , the NBA All-Star Game in 1974 and 1987 , the MLS Cup in 2009 , the Goodwill Games in 1990 and the NCAA Final Four in 1984 , 1989 and 1995 .
And every year , Spokane welcomes runners by the tens of thousands for the Lilac Bloomsday Run , and HoopFest — the annual 3 on 3 basketball tournament — is the largest event of its kind in the world .
For those of us who call Washington home , we are fortunate to live in a beautiful corner of the world . For a variety of reasons , from economic to social , it ’ s good , every so often , to open up our home to a few guests . spring 2023 13