washington business
“ We’ re really a soccer culture. The passion of the region was no question a huge part in how we were awarded the games.”
— Kelly Saling, SVP and chief sales officer of Visit Seattle
“ There’ s a hunger out there for information,” Smith said, noting several hundred attended a chamber-led World Cup webinar this winter.
The chamber is also leveraging its Community Business Connector program to provide personalized support to King County businesses. Third, the initiative will engage with neighborhood liaisons in Chinatown-International District, SODO and Pioneer Square to assist businesses closest to the stadium.
Seattle has recent experience hosting large events, welcoming droves of visitors for the MLB All-Star Week and two sold-out Taylor Swift concerts in 2023. Organizers are incorporating lessons from those events into World Cup planning.
“ Businesses need somebody who they already work with and who they trust, who can provide them with information about what to expect with the World Cup coming,” Flor said.
Seattle will host four World Cup group stage matches between June 15 and June 26, 2026, and two knockout round matches on July 1 and July 6.
“ We’ re really a soccer culture,” said Kelly Saling, SVP and chief sales officer of Visit Seattle.“ The passion of the region was no question a huge part in how we were awarded the games.”
Back in 2017, Visit Seattle helped submit a World Cup bid to make Seattle a host city. The city now boasts a revamped waterfront, expanded Link light rail, and new international arrivals terminal at Sea- Tac International Airport— improvements that help prepare the region to host a mega-event.
“ I think people will really see how special this place is,” Saling said, noting that Seattle stands out as a host city because the stadium is walkable from many parks and natural areas.
Organizers also hope the World Cup will bring together Washingtonians.
“ We hope that it becomes a formative and common memory for the whole region, in a way that really reinforces that this is a big state, but we have a lot in common,” Flor said. spring 2025 25