- Thank you everyone for getting ahead of winter,
coming back and getting in here in time to not have to wear a jacket.
My name is Art Thiel.
I was a,
sports columnist for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and later sports Press,
northwest.
And, as a part of my adventure,
I was assigned to cover nine Olympics.
This is my first World Cup.
But I will mention to you, at the at the start,
there's going to be,
in the ether about the the World Cup.
Lots of talk of politics.
And I can guarantee you that that's what happens
at every single Olympics.
It happens at every single World Cup.
And so do keep that in mind that,
this is the first experience for Seattle in this particular event.
But there's been a lot of stuff, not only in Seattle but everywhere else
that has these major international global events.
And so, it's it's okay to be a little concerned,
but I don't think that there's anything unique or unusual going on.
This is how it works in major global events like this.
So I'm going to start with Beth Knox, Seattle Sports Commission.
Because I think Beth has a great overview,
because she's helped bring so many events to this town.
And I just wanted to list a few that we've had in, in Seattle and,
and talked a little bit about the history and what's next for,
for the town.
Seattle's hosted,
the Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition in 19.
I was totally responsible. You were just a kid.
You're a kid, right?
And, I was a kid
at the Seattle World's Fair in 1962.
I was at the P-i with the Goodwill Games in 1990.
And, I think maybe all of us were there
for the World Trade Organization in 1999,
which we're not going to cover tonight, but, feel free to cringe among yourselves.
And then Beth had the Special Olympics in 2018.
You, had a great command National game and well executed.
So, and we've also had
three final, men's basketball final four championships.
We've had,
three baseball All-Star games
and several other NCAA championships.
But there's been nothing quite like this event.
We're not going to have an Olympics.
And maybe we'll have a world Series.
Wink wink, nudge nudge.
And, Beth, I wanted you to just take an overview of
how different this is and
how large an impact you estimate this to be on Seattle.
- Yeah. I mean, you've all heard it.
The FIFA World Cup is the largest event on the planet.
So, what is unique about, this particular one and 26
is that it's not in a single location or a single, even country.
So it'll be amongst the three countries, but nonetheless,
the the impact is significant.
And it will be the largest event that Seattle has ever hosted.
Certainly.
And I think what is most exciting to me about the place
that we're in right now, in, hosting sporting events
is that, you know, in 2023, we had the MLB All-Star game.
That was really the first big one.
Downtown Seattle that we'd had in 20 years.
And, and then since then, we've hosted
a number of events the NHL Winter classic,
as I said, men's
basketball, women's, the NCAA women's super regional,
and and then there's that little parade that we just hosted, a few weeks ago.
And that was actually a really cool, pivotal moment,
because I was part of the team that planned that,
along with, my colleagues at Seafair and of course, all the city agencies.
And to watch that come together
in such a short amount of time and then to host
half 1 million to 1 million
people downtown on one day,
successfully, no incidences.
I mean, it was really remarkable.
And that just gave everyone a lot of relief
because even with the World Cup, we won't have that many people
in, and one day we'll have it spread out over, over a period of time and have more,
but it
just really gave us a lot of confidence in our hosting abilities.
And it gives confidence to other conferences, leagues,
governing bodies of these sporting events.
And, when they are looking to select
what city should be selected for, to host some of these future
events, they look at that history and that reputation.
Are they good at welcoming visitors and, and giving a great experience?
Can they keep them safe and, and not have, crazy things happening?
So we've already proven ourselves to that to that point.
And, and we're going to I know that the, the team that you see up here
and then so many more that will be executing on, hosting
the World Cup, visitors in Seattle will do a remarkable job.
But the, the impact as far as the numbers, and I think just the scope of it,
I know some of you have heard these numbers before,
but, and, Leo, you have to help me out.
Super Bowl, how many viewers?
125 million, I think is what it is.
The most recent recently were 125 million people watched.
And then the most watched Super Bowl ever international audience was 183 million.
Right.
So then World Cup just in Seattle, our television viewers,
it will be 2 billion.
So that's about 250 million, I think
200 million per the group stage matches.
And then, 400 million for the round of 30 or,
yeah, 232 and then 600 million for the round of 16.
So, I mean, it eclipses a
I think it's like 16 Super Bowls, if I'm not mistaken, that that equates to.
So just by scope, alone.
This is, this is an enormous event that we're hosting.
- And Erin
Goodman, I wanted to find out from you about, SODO
and the neighborhood most immediately impacted both from,
volume and,
and, and party central as it may be.
- Well, SODO was very familiar with hosting sporting events.
This is something we know how to do.
But like that said, this is a different magnitude,
and I want to say that the IOC has been very proactive.
We met with members of the LOC a week after MLB All-Star.
They wanted to know what worked, what didn't work.
And we have been actively engaged with the LOC
and with the two other directly adjacent neighborhoods,
which is the CID in Pioneer Square from the very beginning.
Bick.
And but we're a little different, you know, Pioneer Square
and the CID a lot of the conversation around MLB was
we didn't get any benefit.
They didn't come to our restaurants.
They didn't come to our stores.
In Soto, we have only a small percentage
of businesses that are looking to capitalize on fans.
A vast majority of our businesses are B TO B.
They are the commercial bakeries that are serving the stadium.
They are the food distributors that are making sure
that all of the restaurants throughout Seattle have food in their restaurants.
So in SODO, we look at this a little bit differently
because our businesses are just trying to survive this.
And they love sports.
They know this process, but this one's going to be a little different.
The containment zone and the streets that are closed is a little different.
The amount of time is a little different.
So our organization is working really closely with the LOC
to make sure that the information is out as early as possible,
because right now, the questions we're hearing is, how are my employees
going to get to work and how are we going to function?
How are we going to get trucks to the Pike Place Market?
A lot of our businesses deliver there every day.
And how is that all going to work?
And and people are super excited.
I mean, you know, SODO businesses love sports.
And so we're sort of trying to navigate that
middle ground of we're excited and we still want to operate. And,
- Kylie, Gerry, Kylie, you the representative
from the mayor's office on this.
And so you've been involved in,
trying to manage
some of this enterprise because it is layered and complex with,
with, security, hospitality, all the, issues,
I'm sure that come across your desk and one of the, hiccups in this been
has been just recently resolved, which was that there was,
federal money supposed to be delivered
to the 11 host cities in the U.S.,
ostensibly for security purposes,
but it got hung up in the, partial,
government shutdown.
And, DHS just this week released that money.
So I was I wanted to ask you about,
did the delay have impact?
And where is that money destined to go?
And hopefully not.
It's not too late to get everything where you need it to be.
- Yeah. No, and you're right.
I mean, it definitely is. Is not too late.
And in terms of impact, I think, obviously any time you,
introduce a
level of uncertainty, into a planning process,
particularly this late in the game,
it's going to cause some anxiety.
But the good news is that we have such dedicated
public servants at the city of Seattle that have been thinking about this
and planning this for years, long before
I even came on the scene.
And so, so no, it didn't affect it didn't slow down or affect
any of our safety and security planning at all.
I think now that we have more certainty
that we that we will actually be able to fund, all of these plans,
there is, a sense of relief, but but no, I think,
it was just,
you know, again, for all of our experts, they've been working on this for years.
It was just stay laser focused on continuing
to finalize, the, the the planning here.
And, and I mean, I think, you know, honestly, the, the bigger
kind of uncertainty around all of this is just as you
both said, we've never done this before.
Seattle knows how to put on events.
We know how to put on major events and major sporting events, I think,
but part of I think
the challenge at the city and for city folks
who have been working on this is, you know, to kind of not get
so caught up in, oh my God, this is going to be the biggest thing ever.
And like, stick to what we know how to do.
Yes, it's going to be a different scope
and a different scale and things are going to to, to change.
But you know, we know how to do this.
And I think for a lot of our city employees, we do feel
an immense responsibility.
As Beth spoke to you of, you know, this is us on the world stage
and this is going to have consequences,
for the for for the types of events that we're able to attract on the road.
So, there is kind of an, an immense level of responsibility.
I think that that folks, feel.
But luckily we are all in this together.
I mean, all of us up here
and many more have been working together for years on this.
We each, while we kind of own separate and distinct lanes,
are all very intermixed and intertwined.
And I think you'll, as you'll hear,
as the conversation goes on,
you know, one of the things from the city perspective that is, I think, unique
from what Emilio and his team are thinking about is,
you know, how are we fostering
civic pride and celebration?
Outside of the stadium areas or even the downtown core?
So we put into place some pretty cool programs to,
city sponsored programs to try to spread out, the, the celebrations
out into the neighborhoods so that no matter where you are,
you can feel like you are a part of,
this, you know, immense event that we're hosting and can celebrate it
within your neighborhood or within your own own culture.
So that's kind of one of our the things we're we're real proud of.
At the city,
- Leo, you're the
connection with the, sports world is the,
chief legacy officer of the, Seattle Organizing Committee.
And the Seattle organizing committee is the, central agency that,
manages how this is going to work, at least from Seattle standpoint.
And this is a very different,
event from previous World Cups because the field
has expanded from 32 at the last 1 to 48.
And, there are going to be,
104 matches in three countries.
Mexico and Canada are also hosting games.
And, Seattle has four group stage games
and including,
the USA versus Australia in
on June 19th.
And I would if you're looking at to go to an event or actually
just stand in the street, I recommend this one highly because I covered the,
Olympics in Sydney in 2000,
and these people know how to show up and party.
So, please bring your helmets and safety goggles
and, so,
we also have some drama in the field that is still unresolved.
Some of you, I'm sure, have, heard about
whether Iran is indeed going to participate,
given the hostilities between the US and Iran.
And, I brought everyone a copy of the story that we just broke
today, which says Iran is negotiating to move the World Cup
matches from the United States to Mexico.
And FIFA says no plans to switch.
But, you know, you're not ready to believe
anything until, the thing happens.
Talk a little bit about what's going on from the standpoint of the field and FIFA.
- Yeah, absolutely.
So, I think one thing and you've you touched on this art
is that with an event that is as popular and paid attention
to as what Beth described,
there are a lot of people who are covering it because, folks want to know more,
and there are a lot of people looking for all the different angles.
I will say that, on this particular issue with Iran's participation,
first and foremost, there are things more important
than even the largest sporting event in the world.
And so there is a war, that is happening.
There are human lives, that are affected by that.
And so, first and foremost, you know, we wish for peace.
We wish for, people to be safe.
And I think that's got to start,
any conversation here once you get into the tournament,
if you believed everything you would have read in sequence,
you would have been right and then wrong and then right and then wrong.
On whether or not Iran was going to play.
And the answer that I can tell you is, is we don't know that yet.
There are, conversations that will happen, between the Iranian federation and FIFA.
They'll make a decision that makes sense for them.
But from our perspective, one of the key,
themes that really touches on something Kylee said is there's a ton of uncertainty
when you have this many people coming together.
Our job is to focus on what is most important to control what we can control.
And what we can control is the fact that we are going to welcome
anybody who comes to Seattle with open arms,
they're going to find one of the most welcoming cities
and communities, not just in the nation, but in the world.
We take tremendous pride in that.
And that's the message that we really want to get across.
And, the other thing that I'll say is,
we talk a lot about federal governments when we talk about
the nations that play for the World Cup, because that's who qualifies.
But I think, as many of us know, a nation
is much more than, the position of its federal government.
And so, you know, as we talk about nations
like Iran or Qatar or Australia coming, we have to remember that there are massive
multimillion person populations that live in those countries that have,
descended from people who live in those countries.
And there's tremendous variety in all of those populations.
And I think it just reinforces the importance of, whoever you are,
as long as you're come into, to have a good time and celebrate,
we're going to welcome you with open arms.
And we're really excited about what we can show you about our city and our state.
- That brings up an intriguing,
and kind of a difficult management problem.
Is that is that,
Seattle is known as, have one of the largest,
numbers of, Iranians living here.
And, the diaspora is significant,
but the biggest city
that's going to, host one of these games that has the largest,
diaspora of Iranians is Los Angeles.
And Iran is scheduled to play two games
in LA before they play their third group game here in Seattle.
So a lot of things are going to be settled
well before that, but certainly by then it's going to be a big deal.
And the one thing that it kind of gets overlooked is that,
and you, we're,
a military veteran
who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and I wanted to,
take advantage of your experience and not to
you, are an expert in Iran or anything like that.
But I wanted to see if you if that colors your appreciation
for the deep passion that people have about
their national soccer teams because,
I think it's really unlike anything else in sports.
I mean, we know about good fans here in Seattle, but there is something
in the world about
soccer and nationalism that is utterly unique to the World Cup.
And we're going to see that.
And I'm wondering if you can shed a little bit of light on that as far as,
how to interpret the passion that we're going to see
and probably even the dismay from the Iranians here
who are going to be denied, a chance to see their national team.
- Yeah. Be, like, really nervous at the set up for that question.
Yeah. It's like, where is this going to go?
So, I, you know, I think,
what I really take from the question is,
we talk a lot about the economic impact.
We talk a lot about the traffic impact.
But the thing that I've been most moved by, and it's actually not
because of my military experience.
It's actually a more recent professional experience.
I used to be the guy who cited shelters and permanent supportive
housing across King County, which is, like,
not the most popular guy, in the room when you show up.
But I gotta say, when you when I come into a room
and talk about soccer and sport, the,
the number of people who have some connection to the game
just creates a completely different level of energy and environment.
You will not find many people
who can't find something positive to say about nations coming together
through sport to to unify, even if just for a moment,
and learn more about each other and compete.
It's one of the sort of purest experiences that still exists in our society,
I think.
And the point there is that the level of social impact
of bringing folks together, and I think for our city,
the level of social benefit that is at
stake is one of the most important parts here.
So yes, people get super into their nations.
I do think Seahawks culture sort of begins
to approach that level of of common experience.
But imagine that except with when it's not, it's not a city or a state.
It's hundreds of millions of people.
And it's not just something you do for half the year,
but it's the only thing that you pay attention to.
It's that level of intensity.
And I think we have a real opportunity
and responsibility not just to make sure that.
And Kylee was talking about this, not just to make sure that the visitors
have a good time.
That's super important.
But this is for us too.
This is a chance for us to sort of
relearn our city, us to, you know, give ourselves permission
to do that thing that is so uncool in Seattle,
which is to say, like, this is a pretty great place.
It is the norm now to be so negative about, what's wrong with the city?
And we need to have those conversations, but we live in one of the most beautiful,
one of the most prosperous, one of the most
welcoming spots on the entire earth.
And it would be a huge mistake to not celebrate that,
when all of these folks from all over the world are coming and paying attention,
they said.
- Kylie, I wanted to ask you a
little bit about the city's preparation for this passion.
And I know, I know, you're not going to be divulging
a lot of the security issues, but one of the great places at,
not only the World Cup, but at Olympics
and, and often, major
domestic sporting events is an operation called Fan Fest,
which is where lots of people can gather,
to, who aren't ticket buyers and can't
possibly dream of getting inside the stadium
but still want to be there for the party.
And I want to relate one episode
that I experienced that may resonate with,
why this party is such a big deal.
I had an opportunity in Athens to cover,
an event that was on the original grounds
of the original Olympics 3000 years earlier.
And a part of that stadium is still there from 3000 years ago.
And it's obviously in Olympia, Greece.
Believe it or not, the Olympics were not invented in South Puget Sound. In
the as I was walking into this all it was was a field green field
surrounded by eucalyptus trees, bleacher, aluminum bleachers for about 1200.
And as I walked into this dirt
road, a woman next to me saw my credential and said, oh, you're from Seattle?
And I said, yeah.
And she says, oh, so am I, really?
And we started to talk.
She lived in West Seattle and we talked Seattle, things in common.
I said, so is this your first event?
She's, first Olympics.
And she said, no, I've been to five. Really?
So is this the event they were having was the Shotput?
I said, do you really like the Shotput? And she said,
oh no, this is my first event I've ever been to an Olympics
because it was free.
I said, what do you why do you come here?
And she said, it's the party.
She said, everybody here
is smiling.
I've never forgotten, man.
That's something to keep in mind as we consider all of this, is that
this is a great party and most people are here.
I mean, I'm talking 99% to have a great time,
celebrate their team, celebrate the sport.
So the Fan Fest in Seattle
was going to be originally around Seattle Center,
in Seattle Center.
But it was decided that breaking that up
into four different spots would be better.
And I wanted Kylie to address, how that decision
to came to be made and where those spots are.
- Yeah, well, I mean, the good news is, you know, as you refer to it
as the party, we can now say parties because we are
we are, expanding it and taking it, even bigger.
And so, I mean, the decision was really a, a joint decision between the city
and the local organizing committee, and it was borne, you know, honestly,
out of conversations and outreach across the city.
And Seattle Center obviously was a natural.
It always has been a natural gathering place,
for people to, to go and be together and celebrate, all sorts of things.
And they are still a major anchor point of, of one of these, as you said, for,
kind of primary,
viewing sites and celebration sites.
But I think, you know, one of the things that makes Seattle
so unique is you've heard from everybody up here is just our
we are really a city of individual cultures and neighborhoods.
And so what we heard, as you know, we were talking to folks
about fan celebrations, leading up
to, to finalizing plans.
We really did hear that more opportunities were going to be better for folks,
and it really allows it also allows for much more flexibility,
within each of these venues to do cool different stuff.
And so I think if, if, if what is best is if,
you know, that gets more people involved and more people to be able to come to,
a free, fun, exciting party
and they can watch matches and be together, that's that's that's great.
- Could you explain a little bit about what's in a fan fest?
I mean, it's important to realize that big screen TVs
are the central focus so that people who are not,
inside the stadium can see each, each match.
And I was wondering if you could say what else is typically
in all of these spots and which and identify each one.
There's one down by Pioneer Square and,
go ahead.
- Yeah for sure.
And Leo chime in here too.
I mean, I think,
you know, yes,
the the main component of it is watching a match.
So I know that at Seattle Center and at Victory
Hall, I believe, which is with a second.
So it's Victory Hall down, by
and then SODO, Seattle Center,
the waterfront is going to host, big free watch parties
and then actually an indoor, opportunity at Pacific Place.
They have I don't know if anybody's
been in there recently, but they have erected a giant screen thing,
which is really cool, but that will be an opportunity
for folks to, to also watch matches, and, and be inside.
So but
as I was speaking to earlier about the,
the flexibility that this new expanded model allows for,
you know, what you're going to see,
at least on Seattle Center, maybe you can speak to some of the other, venues.
But at Seattle Center, you're going to see a real focus on cultural diversity.
So we know this is happening right in the middle
of some of our major festival, celebrations on campus.
They're going to lean into that programing.
They are, you know, kicking around ideas.
Plans haven't been all finalized yet, but kicking around ideas for
how do we create,
you know, the potential for like a global marketplace
type situation where we are celebrating, you know,
not just the cultures of the the teams in the countries that are playing.
But but ones that are, that are here and
and celebrate that.
So that bit of food trucks, music
stuff to buy, stuff to look at,
but I don't know if you have any more details on some of the other.
I can speak a little bit to victory. Victory.
- So Victory Hall be one of the locations that has alcohol,
and they are working to do one of our games will have Belgium
and they're working to have Belgian beers and opportunities,
and they're working directly with different,
members of the national groups to have experiences so that when then
they will be showing all of the games, not just the games that are here.
And so they're looking to create experiences
so that fans that want to come and see can drink beers
from the countries that they're watching, that it can be more of a feeling
if you are Australian and you are here, you can go there and it's going to be
drinking a beer that you're familiar with, and they've got a lot of experience.
And so that's one of the only ones.
And that's one of the things that splitting it up
allows is to have a location
that already has an alcohol permit that can create more of a beer
garden experience, that can show all of the games.
- Yeah, I think this is key.
So like one of the inside soccer things that you learn arrive at least learned
as we get into planning this event is there's this real tension
between international events and local community.
How do you make sure that the the big event doesn't come to town
and insulate itself so that the benefit, is sort of kept within,
a certain perimeter?
What we at the local organizing committee really began to hear.
And I think the perfect symbol of this is actually Leslie Gallimore.
She's the general manager for, Seattle Arena.
She FC, she's one of the smartest people I've met.
She's like, I have been to almost every World
Cup and the best fan fest.
Our families on picnic blankets, watching a big screen, sharing food.
Her advice was, we don't need a lot of the other stuff.
It's about quality time and it's about accessibility.
And that's sort of stuck with us.
We heard from more and more communities
that if we were to hold a big, centralized, closed off event in a way
that actually kept the benefit from accruing
to local businesses in Pioneer Square, in SODO, in the Chinatown
International District, in the Central District, that that would be a missed.
And so, in many ways, the state of the art of hosting a big event like this
has to do with taking the attention that comes from the big event
and then connecting it more directly to the neighborhoods
that are here all the time, the music venues that are here
all the time, the bars, the restaurants, how do we help them benefit.
And that's what this model really gets at.
And then the other thing that's, folks have said,
but just to reinforce it is you kind of get experiences for everybody here.
So there will be some folks who really are into the near stadium party scene.
Some folks are going to be on the waterfront and and look for seals.
Some folks are going to want to go to Pacific Place.
We're going to host the Seattle soccer house there.
That'll be the one of the watch parties or the Seattle fan
celebrations that the local organizing committee itself is going to be hosting.
A massive screen there, a lot of, local businesses.
There'll be a store there, too.
I think a lot of people will want to go to that.
We'll share that information, here shortly when we can.
And we're also in conversations with a couple of other neighborhoods for more.
So, we're in some conversations with the Chinatown International District.
What does it look like to support watch parties there?
What does it look like to support,
celebrations on Juneteenth in the Central District?
When, this is one of the things that gives me goosebumps, though.
We are hosting the United States national soccer team
with hundreds of millions of people across the world
watching this city on Juneteenth, and the responsibility
and the magnitude of educating people who don't know about it.
You know, think about being on the African continent
and learning why the United States has to have a holiday called Juneteenth.
There's a huge responsibility there.
This is goes far beyond sport.
And it's not just about what happens on broadcast.
It's about how do we get visitors
coming to town that day from Australia to go up into the Central district
and see what's going on at 23rd and uni and see what's going on at Jimi
Hendrix Park, and benefit those communities as well.
So that's really what's at stake with this distributed model
and why we're really excited about it.
- To that end, is there
Erin, is there are there, dedicated places
where nationality can gather?
I mean, you mentioned like, you know, the village and the beer house.
- So those conversations are happening.
We've been, you know, receiving, communication
from the Australians about parking for tour busses.
I think that's going to get more clear over the next month or so.
But I think Leo really sums it up very well.
We need to move people out into the neighborhoods
because everyone can't be in Pioneer Square.
Everyone can't go up the Space Needle at the same time.
Like we don't have enough bathrooms or restaurants in one neighborhood.
And so it's an opportunity to see Seattle.
And we also need them to go.
We, you know, we talked about the parade.
The parade was amazing.
But everybody that came from the parade,
one knew where they were going and they all went home.
At the end of the day, these people are staying
and we need to have places for them to go and experience and eat.
And that's where these other fan fest and these other neighborhoods
and these other experiences are so important.
If everybody stays in SODO, Pioneer Square, it's it.
It won't work.
We need to get them to Ballard and West Seattle
and down to Burien and to other neighborhoods,
because there's going to be so many people that we need that balance.
We don't have enough bathrooms.
I mean, we just need that experience.
And it's really an opportunity to show what is so amazing about the
greater Seattle area.
- Beth,
you've been, well experienced in attracting events to,
Seattle, and it's been a, a
remarkable thing that the Seattle Sports Commission has done.
What kind of impact were successful World Cup
have on the future of attracting
other big events?
- Yeah.
And as I as I said earlier, it
there's a level of, confidence
and an established reputation that hosting a World Cup provides.
But it really opens the door
for the, the next big event.
And in the end, the next, you know, Mayor Harrell used to say that,
we can't have all the, the homeruns.
We need the singles and doubles as well.
And, so that gives us the opportunity to certainly look for the,
you know, the 2031 Women's World Cup.
And that's the FIFA Women's World Cup.
And then there's the 2031 Men's Rugby World Cup.
Those are the big
events that are on the horizon that we're looking at.
But, there's also opportunities to bring,
new teams here and not I'm not even talking the Sonics
because of course, that is, of interest to us all, but, the,
the Premier Lacrosse League is looking to to have a team in Seattle,
the USL, softball,
professional women's softball would like to have a team here.
So creating this environment in this reputation in Seattle
that, reinforces that message that Leo talked about of
of being welcoming and inclusive, that matters to the teams, for sure.
That's why we got the Seattle Torrent in here, is they knew that
their players would be welcomed in Seattle.
So hosting a a World Cup
really starts to open doors and sends a very strong message about who we are,
what we're capable of, what our priorities are.
And it it makes us very attractive for other events.
So we are, part of the job of the Sports
Commission is also to look at the cadence of events.
And what size events do we want to host over the years?
You don't want to do World Cups back to back to back, even if we could,
I mean, that would just be a huge burden on city services and,
and just our, our community.
But to have, a, an NHL All-Star game,
and then an NFL draft a couple of years after that, and then a Women's World Cup,
and then smaller things that happen in between NCAA events.
That's the kind of cadence that makes sense for our city.
And, it keeps a nice, rhythm for us. But,
World Cup
is, is the, you know, it's the Grand Poohbah of all events.
So, it really just sends a message
of what we're capable of and, and what our interest is.
And, you know, I've seen, articles of other cities
where that the general sentiment is, you know.
Oh, she's another event.
And and there's this, this attitude of it's a burden.
It's a real burden to, to host these events.
And that's my goal, is that Seattle
never takes on that type of, mentality.
And I think that you can that can happen
if you do and schedule too many events.
You know, LA is very, very good at hosting events.
But when we went there for the MLB All-Star game in 2022,
as it, a site visit before hosting in 23,
there was a cavalier attitude,
by a lot of the the folks in LA like, you know.
Yeah, whatever MLB All-Star, we've got Olympics, we've got a Super Bowl.
I mean, it just felt like no big deal to them, but not in a good way.
So I don't want that to ever be Seattle.
I want us to always feel excited about welcoming new visitors.
And and, Leo, you said it so perfectly.
I am really passionate about making sure
that our locals are enjoying this World Cup.
It is.
This is a generational event, and we will never
none of us will ever see that in Seattle in our lifetime again.
So, being able to come down and see it,
firsthand and be part of the, the party or sitting on a blanket
with your family at Seattle Center, wherever you are.
That is just something you don't want to miss.
And I would encourage you to tell your friends and family, the same thing.
You know, occasionally I'll hear the,
I'm just going to read my house out for Airbnb.
That's fine, but don't leave.
Go sit on your houseboat or whatever you need to do.
And, make sure that you still come to the World Cup and experience it with.
- How crucial was the completion of the waterfront
to this presentation of Seattle?
- It was significant. There's no question.
You know, it it makes us
that world class city that that we know we are,
because we were unfinished before then, and and now,
it not only feels complete, but it is truly that,
that corridor that gets people through through the downtown area.
It gets them from the hotels down to the waterfront
and encourages them to come to the Stadium district.
And it moves people around.
And so, it was a really significant moment to not only for pedestrian flow,
but also on how people think of Seattle once they're here.
It just it completes the picture. But,
- Kyle, what is the major tasks from the standpoint of the
the operation of the city in terms of executing all the things?
The two big issues, I think are security and transportation.
Huge issues, especially in such a compact downtown.
What what are the stress points and what have you solved, if any?
- Well, I mean, the thing
that I think is it makes us so unique,
but also makes hosting events like this
uniquely challenging for Seattle is that,
you know, we are maybe one of the only or the only.
If not, it's not the only one of the very few,
cities whose stadiums or two major stadiums
are right in the middle of downtown.
So that's great.
I mean, fun, exciting, vibrant.
I love that it also presents very complex challenges.
In terms of safety and security, transportation, mobility.
You have people living right there within the secure security perimeter.
So I would, I mean, it is
there are going to be impacts,
to, to particularly in kind of the
the hot zone there of Pioneer Square SODO CID
When I came on board, as you spoke to a little bit,
there was a big sentiment of,
let's learn from what we have,
done in the past, particularly the All-Star weekend that you referenced.
So I think we have, along with, you know, our partners
LOC, taking a really intentional,
view of how are we being and how are we being thoughtful
about the impacts to small businesses and helping ensure that they are able
to continue to do business and hopefully thrive, on these match days?
But it's, you know, I think
if we're not, we're going to have to not sugarcoat,
some of the impacts that that folks are going to feel there,
particularly people that are, you know, working there and, and living there.
But as we continue to remind ourselves,
and this is not to negate any of these impacts, but it is six days.
And so sometimes we get ourselves wrapped around the axle.
Oh my gosh, it's months and months and and yeah, there will be outsized
impacts just from the sheer amount of people that are here.
But we have big tourist seasons every year, big cruise seasons.
So yeah, I'm not sure that we've solved for it, but we are.
We are prepared.
- Well, just please tell me that there's not going to be three
cruise ships at the same time that they kick off one of the games.
Can you can you tell me that one?
- No, I don't know. Leo What do you think?
- What I can say, we, you should know that we, map all that out so,
just to build on what kind of thing?
We are one of only two stadiums of the 16 where the stadiums are really.
The stadia are really integrated into the core of the downtown.
And that does pose challenges.
I think it's super important to be candid about,
the impacts, but it's also a tremendous opportunity,
the level of excitement of coming to a city
and not having to get on a bus and ride for 45 hours through the suburb
to get to a giant asphalt parking lot that surrounds an entire stadium.
The experience is just very different, and what we hear particularly
from a lot of the European fans who are looking to come,
is that they're much more used
to that sort of urban integrated stadium experience in their downtown.
And so that's something that will be familiar.
But the fact that you're going to be able to, start your morning at the stadium,
be out on the waterfront, ten minutes later,
take a 20 minute walk and be in the middle of our Chinatown International district,
take another 20 minute walk or get on the light rail,
or get on the streetcar, or get on the shuttle that will be there.
Or get on a metro bus.
And that you can then, you know, go to the Seattle Art Museum,
you can get up to the Seattle Center.
And oh, by the way,
they can be able to get on light rail in the Chinatown International District.
And coast along the first, floating bridge, laid light rail
track in the world, and be in Bellevue and Redmond in less than an hour.
That's an extraordinary urban experience.
And so, I really like the way that Beth said it.
You know, the waterfront finished in many ways, the city
and maybe like some further finishing here is we are stitching together
a world class network of ways to get in.
And there are impacts to that, that go beyond the fan experience.
There will be zero single occupancy vehicle parking anywhere at the stadium
that has tremendous,
environmental or sustainability benefits.
When you think about how many fewer people,
the transportation people call it mode shift, but are going to be taking cars.
Now, part of that is practical
because if you're trying to drive your car, it's going to be harder
to get near the stadium.
But part of that is a luxury.
You're going to be able to get on an increased frequency
of sound or trains of light rail trains of metro busses
that will be stacking the way they do outside of Husky games at,
the stadium, so that they can, depart and arrive as soon as they get filled up.
There's been a tremendous amount of transportation planning and security
planning that has gone into taking, this particularly urban situation.
And we are, I think, as Kylie said, we're ready.
And we're really excited to show off, you know what?
It's going to be like to go to a match in the middle of the summer in Seattle.
- That brings up a, point about planning in
the space we've got here
next to the 509 freeway
heading south and west of the stadium's
is several acres of vacant land.
What the hell is going on there?
And what couldn't happen related to the World Cup here?
- I know that those conversations, that land is not paved,
right, which causes challenges for parking for environmental reasons.
So I know that those conversations a lot of people have looked
at the property for potential, and it's still ongoing
because you can't park on it when it's unpaid for oil reasons.
I don't know that there is actually a plan for right now, is there?
- I thought for sure there would be pop up tents or something.
- The property is going to actually be used for transportation planning,
and so there will be, busses and vehicles staging on and off
that property, to help people move in and out and help cargo move in and out.
- One of the other,
great mysteries of major sports
events in Seattle is,
the issue of,
artificial turf.
We've always had artificial turf, obviously not for the baseball team,
but certainly that's been the case
for football for all the obvious weather related reasons.
But that's not happening.
There is going to be real grass.
Can any of you speak directly to how that magic is working?
- I can speak a little bit about it.
And then there might be others, but I think
this is actually one of the cool again, inside soccer stories of the World Cup
is when a statewide vote had to happen to make Lumen Field possible.
And that legislation is a requirement that the stadium must be able
to accommodate a grass playing surface for a World Cup.
So all the way back, when that vote was happening,
the seeds of this plan were in there.
And, the way I at least hear the story, I can't say I was there,
really remarkable person named Fred Mendoza.
Really sort of drove forward that particular aspect of the legislation.
Now, fast forward to 2026.
There is 14in of substrate,
going down on top of that, turf surface right now.
There will be a world class stitched grass playing
pitch, as we call it, in soccer, in place.
It's not just going to be for the World Cup.
So we have the privilege of having the U.S.
women's national team come into town.
They're going to be playing, an exciting match against Japan on in April.
On that surface, we have both the rain and the Sounders.
They'll get a chance to play on grass in their home stadium as well.
So, it is a requirement that there be a grass playing
surface for any FIFA World Cup.
We're really excited about, what's taking shape there.
And if you ever get a chance just to watch how the fantastic crew
at Lumen Field, both the Public Stadium Authority and First and Goal Incorporated,
they'll turn it into motorcross, and they'll bring in, like, tons of dirt.
And then the next weekend, it'll be soccer.
And then the next day it'll be football.
And that's people out at like, midnight changing lines, putting down new lines,
pulling up
turf, putting down concert surfaces, bringing in dirt, bringing out dirt.
That's a really well-used and run facility.
And it's really amazing to watch.
- And I thought I would just add another interesting aspect of,
the grass field is a grass pitch.
Is that the the level of detail
that goes into growing it, stitching it together.
And when you think about you've got these 16 different stadiums
in different cities, different climates, and yet we, you know, we are,
mandated to have equal playing fields, literally for all of the teams.
And so there is so much science that goes into growing that grass,
and have it be as,
equitable as possible across every single stadium so that, it doesn't
matter what city you're in, you're going to have a comparable experience.
It's a farce.
And I couldn't begin to to detail out what it all is entailed.
But it is very,
very scientific and very specific.
- Well, I think, we are
into it, for about an hour, and I'd be very eager to entertain questions
from the audience about, things you've heard or things you haven't heard.
And, I think this group is, done very well in explaining a very,
complicated endeavor with,
especially, you know, the
you just can't know
what you don't know, and some of these things.
And, I feel a lot better after hearing.
Everyone speak up here.
Back here.
Yes. Jim.
- Yeah. I'm wondering.
I didn't know I had the math would
work out
Was it considered to have a, Fare
holiday on public transportation
during Sunday's, games
as a way to accommodate all these people?
And I love how you have attached that.
You have to your face.
You have to use transit, but it just seems like
that's one of the obstacles to getting people transit
You know?
So what happens?
just like fare holidays on games
Everybody has.
Yeah, I can
- I mean, I can speak, so I think, that option in many more,
came across, ultimately, I think one of the cool opportunities
and big events like this is actually how do you use them,
to change and modify for better the way we interact with our city.
And so, and the other thing is that, we want to be able to prove
that we can host events as we are, as opposed to sort of
twisting ourselves into,
a weird, fare pretzel in order to like, you know, attract the next event.
And so, for the long term viability of our transportation system,
we think it's actually really important
that people use these new innovations like, the,
numerous ways that there are reduced fares for any number of,
folks to really increased access, use, ride for free every day
right now, you do have the ability to tap, to pay.
And so, because one of our long term goals is to support the adoption
of the type of public transit system that really allows our city
to continue growing.
We actually really saw this as an opportunity to show off
just how easy it is, to to get on a bus,
get on the streetcar, transfer to the ferry, transfer from the ferry.
So I know that they considered it.
Ultimately, we landed, with what I think is a much more sustainable approach,
and it's one that also has, you know, our local agencies being able
to get the resources from operation that they need to keep going.
And so I think they struck a good balance.
- I wanted to at home right here.
Go ahead.
You can go first and not so much.
- So I'm wondering about this considered
kind of a transportation related question, but,
is there going to be tailgating
kinds of events around the stadium
that can be permitted
- To the north and the stadium to the north of the stadiums?
We have had outreach from some of the national groups for locations to rent.
So like they're looking for venues,
but traditional tailgating like we see for the Seahawks
out of a vehicle, we don't anticipate that.
That's not a tradition.
We don't see that with Sounders games.
So we're not anticipate.
We do expect there to be, in addition to what's happening at Victory Hall
for there to be, you know, specific bars or restaurants
that will be a central hub for all of the Belgian fans or this.
But I don't expect to see tailgating as we would see it for a Seahawks game.
So it's not really part of the tradition around, soccer or football.
- Okay, so this so that's that's part one of the question.
So the so we're trying to get at this for those of us who are businesses and live
north of the area that's been impacted,
who will experience transportation
opportunities challenges on days like this.
The Seahawks created
baseball used to create gridlock.
And thank you again.
So we have all of those problems getting in and out and actually
going on the and lines, and that's fine.
I know that's going to happen.
But what I, what I'm asking is when we know enough to know
you stuff, you need to plan around with some business.
- I know that the Alliance for Pioneer Square,
because I assume you're talking about the Pioneer Square.
You about North?
Oh, north of downtown?
Yeah. They they put out their map of the areas.
They're going to be, pedestrian only last week.
We are telling people in Sodo go early. Yes.
We're encouraging everyone to use transit.
But transit will also be very crowded.
And they are putting in more trains.
So planning extra time if you are a regular commuter is also going
to be important.
As for north of pioneer Square, I would not.
I don't have when they're going to be releasing it.
I know that Pioneer Square released their map of closures in the last week.
Like I can tell you about the central business district of Belltown.
- I mean, I don't anticipate there.
I mean, the main, the the kind of hot zone of impacts
and street closures is really Pioneer Square.
SODO some areas around the CID,
but I think Erin's right that regardless of whether you're doing business
or living in a place that is within that street closure grid or not, there will be.
I mean, it fans out.
And so as you said, you know, you
you feel it where you are for Seahawks games.
I would again not going to sugarcoat it.
You know, I would expect that there will be a higher
than normal volume of congestion.
- Expect that I'm just asking for a schedule.
So if there were going to be tailgating that was expected much earlier.
It is.
And I know you probably don't have the answer now, but it's just a question.
- I mean, I can we actually do have most of the answer.
And so, and that's information, that we were actually just talking.
So, I was coming out and joining our Neighborhoods
Council meeting soon, I think would be super helpful.
But, here's what we know.
Every game is on a weekday.
One of those is a federal holiday, Juneteenth.
But otherwise, every game is on the weekday.
You have a noon start time, a noon start time, a noon start time, a one, 8 p.m.
game, and that's on a Friday.
And then you have a 1 p.m. game and a 5 p.m. game.
So if it's on a work day and it's not a holiday and it's a noon
start time, we know that we are going to implement traffic,
street closures, for hours before a game.
And I believe it's until seven hours after the match ends.
We have those maps, and we can provide you,
and you can actually go on the Alliance for pioneer Square,
the Sodo or the CID, World Cup websites right now.
And you could actually see grainy
footage of me making a presentation where those maps are actually, you know, there.
And we talk about them.
So, we have shared, really clearly what we currently know, but
I think the thing that we,
should be prepared for as a community is that,
these are our best plans right now.
And the only thing I can guarantee you is that something about them
is going to change, and it's going to change
based on something that we might not be able to predict.
So how does the first match go?
Because we have six of them.
So what adjustments might we put in place by match three or match four?
Does a security condition change that has us reassessing where,
street closure should be, or the time that a street closure is in place?
Something that is very different about the FIFA World Cup,
than almost any other event here is you can expect multiple
heads of state to come in and out of our region to attend matches.
Over the course of that three and a half weeks.
And if anybody has ever been on the road when the vice president
comes in for a fundraiser at some house on the water in a neighborhood far off,
you know what that does?
And if you can imagine
multiple heads of state coming to the same match, potentially,
you start, to build a mental map of the standard street closures.
And again, we know what those are for.
Now, they might change.
We know the times that they'll be in effect.
They'll be only in effect on the days of the six matches.
They won't be in effect on non match days.
And then there's all the variables that I don't,
you know, if you read it in the newspaper and they tell you
they know who's come in here from a head of state at what time.
They either
know something that everybody else doesn't or they are speculating and they're not.
Right.
- I mean, and you're and you're right, Leo, I think something also to add is,
you know, there are hotels all throughout our downtown that are going to be used
not just for hosting heads of state, but for hosting teams.
And at least, you know, I, I live downtown and when the Club World Cup is here,
which was, you know, a different scope and scale for sure.
But as I was walking around my neighborhood, you know, it was clear
that there was obviously a team
staying at the Westin because there were people camped out outside
waiting to do something, I don't know, see somebody I don't know, not sure, but,
so so, yes, you're
you're right there there are, there are there will be impacts to areas,
you know, outside of just the, the Pioneer Square area.
And, you know, another just to add on to to Leo's Point,
you know, and yours aren't we don't know what we don't know.
And you know, at least our folks at the city are prepared to,
you know, make adjustments as things go along.
But even match to match is going to look
and feel very different based on who is here.
You know, Juneteenth is going to be massive.
So even, you know, if the first match goes okay.
Yeah, we feel like we're, we're we need to be prepared to, to pivot.
You know, at any time.
- And one of the things that the LOC has done, especially with the adjacent
neighborhoods, is they have something called the Neighborhood Liaison Program.
So during this period of time, we have designated staff
that will be on call 24 hours a day
to respond to issues from our businesses
and to respond to calls from the clock so that we can be communicating.
We have a phone that's got a bright orange cover, and it's the like the hotline.
And our each neighborhood is handling it differently.
In our case, the phone will go to different
staff people so that we can respond
to an emergent issue and connect,
and we can respond to an emergent issue that they have.
And it's really important because I can tell you, you know,
we were so excited with the Seahawks, but the division championship
game with tailgating was a challenge.
And we were we forgot how to handle tailgating during Covid.
And it was like, oh wait, we know how to do this.
And getting everybody.
And it's got to remember that we have to close the street once
there's all these people.
And so the fact that we already have this communication system
up and running is really important and will be really helpful
when things are, you know, in the moment, need to be handled.
- And is it accurate, though,
that you're also asking, is there a timeline to say,
this is what's going to happen in this part of downtown?
Is that part of your question to advance planning ambiguity?
- Right, right. Things like
and then trying to came in, I couldn't even walk down my seats, didn't
come and knew it, you know, that kind of stuff to get through?
Obviously not.
This is the to the extent that there are going to be modifications and changes.
How are you?
I mean, I gather that through Pioneer Square, we're dialed in, but we are not
so happy.
What's what's our access point?
It's part of why I really want
you guys to come and talk to me in Downtown Intermediate.
What's our access point?
Who who do we call if anyone? Not.
And I expect it to be an issue, but people who like to work with no surprises.
So it's really about seeing
what we can do to at least minimize the surprises,
if not
for the office community, for the business,
and for the exceptionally large.
So we have to have time.
So that's I think you call Leo, right?
Yeah, I know Leo
and and and just the other thing was,
was, some transit and conference,
- Very much in it.
So there's, you know, all of the transit agencies
that, you know, and a couple that you might not,
come together and have been for two and a half years now.
And so town Transit is very much in the middle of it.
And they've been a wonderful partner.
So I don't know if there's something
more specific than that, but they are they're fully in the plan.
One thing, another way to answer your question is,
starting in May, there's going to be a no before you go public
communications campaign from all the transit agencies
that will begin to communicate the changes to frequency, of different modes.
And, if there are any changes to where you'll pick them up.
So that public communication communication campaign will start in May.
- And we're at the city also working now on how do we kind of
I mean, there's, as I'm sure you know, lots of ways
that that city departments and city agencies push out information
to the public based on whatever, whatever needs to be communicated.
So we are now
looking at the kind of universe of what we have available at the city.
And how are we speaking with one voice through, whether it's Alert Seattle
or whether it's, you know, as dot, specific, alert system that they have.
So those conversations are happening. Okay.
- But I would also alert,
anybody who is going to be in the vicinity
of a hotel that is hosting a team.
Run away.
Run away, because
the hotel of the national team
is a magnet for visitors from,
the host nation, obviously, and adjacent.
But, adjacency is very
difficult thing to manage at most sports events, because it's a chance
for some fans to get what they think
is up close and personal with their heroes.
And the cluster around that is usually it's a
there's a secure cordon that typically surrounds that hotel.
But when you're talking about a downtown hotel,
there's only so far a cordon can go, and you may be able to speak to that.
- But we also have two practice
facilities, two at Seattle University and U-dub as well.
So those will be magnets as well. They are.
- They can come to my hotel room.
They're they're fine if they want to come back to the hotel.
- Oh okay. Yes.
Craig. Yeah. You know about hotels. Yeah.
- So they can come there and spend a lot of money.
And that's what I have discovered.
First of all,
I want to say thank to to all of you because you're doing the heavy lifting.
And there was, from what I understand what I've seen, there's no template
for this type of thing in the U.S., Canada and Mexico in terms of the geography.
So there's been so much guessing, I think.
I mean, we're just still as business owners as what we're going to see and how it
kind of made a great point.
So in June and July, we're always busy.
Okay.
So it's it's we know how to handle those things.
I think the difference on this one will be that we're busy
with people that aren't necessarily there to, to cheer on a team.
So the good thing is, I think everybody's going to have a great party.
So it may be a little bit different kind of a scene, but
we, you know, we're hoping for high occupancy, but we still don't know.
And it is still one of those things that we're just going to have to take over yet.
And but I want to thank you guys
for doing what you're doing, because I can only imagine, I think about
when we're talking about what we're going to experience.
We're guessing.
So I cannot imagine without the complexity of everything you're dealing with.
And that's why Kylie said, it's six days, you guys back.
So there.
So that's. But thanks.
- So I have a unique position being a business improvement area
in that I work with business improvement areas across the country
had the opportunity to go to Toronto and work with folks there.
I was just in LA meeting and in LA they don't mention World Cup at all.
It's all Olympics.
Like you wouldn't even know the World Cup is coming.
But I meet with my peers in these
and when I went to Toronto and first of all,
Toronto, it's all being handled by the national government.
They don't have an LLC that's a nonprofit that's having to raise money
to organize this.
And so I really want to shout out to Leo and the work that they've been doing,
but I think it's we you know, we I'll be honest
there were times last year I'm like, oh, we're not ready.
Oh, oh, we're not ready.
And then I talked to some of my peers and realize, oh, we are ahead.
And yes,
you're right, we don't know what we don't know.
But as things have rolled out,
the Sports Commission, the chamber have put together
these playbooks, you know, the plans have come out.
And it's one of those things as the different parts of the recipe
have start to come together as someone who's not in the government,
who's not, I'm a I'm involved, but I'm also a little on the outside.
You're starting to see it come together.
I'm feeling a whole lot.
And you know, the the parade did give you
that little bit more confidence that.
Yeah, I mean, I'm in a long term large scale event person.
Something always happens.
I mean, doesn't matter how well prepared you are, but I'm
feeling a lot better than I was a year ago.
And then I was six months ago, certainly than I was in November. And,
so I can tell you and you know me, I wouldn't
you know, I'm feeling like we are in a place to do this,
and I'm really excited, and that makes me feel better.
- Question. Yeah.
- I've got two questions in the chat, guys.
I just moved to Seattle two days ago.
Welcome.
One of the main principles, tenets, pillars of Seattle.
You know who to show off to. The world.
I know, Erin,
you talked about Australian cricket, Australian here while they're here,
but I think a lot of it is like children of what Seattle is for everyone else.
So it'll be here, like, maybe in the top three of us.
And then the other one is,
how are you utilizing all the attention, funding through a lot of this events
to improve Seattle for the long term, for people who may be here
after that, - you're chief legacy officer is legacy officer time.
He got so stpeaking of my life. Oh one, welcome to Seattle.
I can make a shameless pitch now.
Anybody and everybody here, if you have a mobile phone,
you can go on to either the Google or the Apple Store and download an app called
SEA and win SEA ampersand. Win.
So this is a gamified experience we've put together.
But it really what it does is it connects the Central District, go there
to the Chinatown International District, go there to Sodo,
to Pioneer Square, to the waterfront, to Belltown, to Seattle Center,
and then up to Capitol Hill, running through the commercial core.
And we're attempting to create a new habit for how people come to Seattle
and check it out.
So if you download that app, you'll see the 410 individual stops
that we've identified in partnership with leaders in every community
that we think anybody who comes to Seattle should check out.
And oh, by the way, check out the other the stops you walk by along the way.
What you're the second part of your question
is the entire reason for our organization really existing.
And if my boss were here, the first thing he'd say is,
is, despite all the conversation here today,
the thing he's least worried about is the soccer games.
And the thing that he is most worried about is that today's eight year old,
when they are 38, looks back on this event and sees how it strengthened
and benefited our city.
So we've got a couple specific ways that we've been doing that.
Some of that you could probably predict.
We're working with the Rei Foundation.
We're building mini soccer fields across the state.
We have some particularly important projects where we've used a tension
that comes from the World Cup.
We are a nonprofit to raise funds and then have built,
a new soccer pitches on, tribal reservations,
with, in partnership with some of our tribal communities.
And they are now, I believe, at 40,
the 48 new soccer fields out of an overall goal of 52.
So they're almost at,
it was at first 26 for 26.
And now it's more than that.
We've used, the attention to actually designate Seattle
as a one of four regional hubs for Paralympic blind soccer.
We are bringing the first set of blind soccer pitch panels
so that, blind athletes have a chance to play soccer and enjoy.
And if you haven't checked out, this is my second phone recommendation.
If you haven't checked out Blind Soccer, as a Paralympic sport,
Google that or whatever service you use.
It is extraordinary.
And you will see the full breadth of what, trained athletes are capable of doing.
It's not just that, though.
We working, with a local coalition,
of of service providers for people who are experiencing homelessness.
I got a shout out to my friend,
Daniel Malone from the downtown Emergency Services Center.
What I think
one of the most important leaders in our whole community is sitting here right now.
And we're working to map the impacts of,
big events on service providers, for folks who live outside
so that when we have big events, we can maintain access to service.
And so one, real solid example of that is there is a methadone dosing
van that parks on the north side of Occidental Square two mornings a week.
And the people who depend on that service,
if it is not there, their life is literally at risk.
And so despite everything that we've just talked about,
we've got to figure out a way
that we can keep those folks connected to their treatment.
And we have to show that a big sporting event needs to account
for those types of things, too.
We have, I can go on and on about this.
Would love to talk about anyone, talk about it with anyone afterwards.
But the, the the tagline here and to me, the reason why I'm involved in this work
is our job to take this moment of global focus and convert it into long
term, local progress for things that we care about.
The other way to say this is at the local organizing committee.
We have a really clear understanding of where we're measuring success.
We hope that the world, thinks that this is a fantastic event.
We are dedicated to making sure
that our community thinks that this was a fantastic event.
Some of that's going to be soccer,
and some of that's going to have nothing to do with soccer.
- Are there questions?
Yes. Oh, no.
I sent.
Yes. Back there.
- So we're definitely a sports town, but we're not really
a public bathroom town.
If you go downtown, I'm very curious.
Is there?
I mean, this might be too small, but, like,
is there any thought to bathrooms for people who are downtown
but aren't they patronizing, establishments?
Because we can’t all go to the third floor of the Target.
That's what I'm speaking.
- Well, one, thank you for sharing that tip, to our new seatellite.
So the third and third floor target.
That's not on , yet.
But, I really appreciate that question because,
I think that, one there are some important things that are happening.
The Seattle Department of Transportation, for example, is working to site some,
new bathrooms that are going to be in Pioneer Square.
And, there might be folks here who can speak more about that.
But there are two things I actually want to ask for everyone's
help here before we go.
And one of them is, what does it look like for us as a community
to decide that we want more bathrooms?
I think
that that is an investment in future events.
It's an investment in people who need bathrooms right now.
And I got to say,
there is nothing that is more unifying than having to go to the bathroom.
Everybody has to do it.
I'll save my second one, because maybe that's a question
of my second request, but I think it's a really good point.
I know that there will be some,
temporary, you know, you can predict, rows of Sani cans.
Some of that will be out there, for the event days themselves.
Again, the Seattle Department of Transportation,
I believe, is doing some cool experimentation with other models.
That could be longer term, but we need more bathrooms in our community.
- We will be hosting a demo of The Throne,
which is the bathroom that is not in our parking lot.
If people are interested in it, it is to be a public restroom
that I would use, and I'm not a big fan of a part of the port o potty.
I got to check one out in DC and it's I,
I run SODO, I look at things when they bring them to me
is how could SODO destroy this? And
and I looked at the throne and
and we were in a in a park in DC and I'm like this makes sense.
They use them in Griffith Park in L.A.
They're about the size of one of those units that you could get
from U-Haul that gets dropped off in front of your house.
And I was really, really impressed.
We are SDOTs trying to bring them in.
Metro is trying to bring.
There's a certain number you've got to get to.
So once I have it, I will welcome everyone to come visit
because we need a few more to make the model work.
- Have you been to the Waterfront Park?
- Those are gorgeous.
Those cost a lot of money.
These do not tax dollars a month.
So I know, I know, I would love to have that, but those sit in one place.
These are mobile and in a lot of money for my budget.
But in government dollars, these are very affordable. Yeah.
- Any other questions?
Hearing none I call this meeting adjourned.
Please. A round of applause for our guests .
Thank you.