Visit Seattle published the official post-event result on September 22, 2026: $889M total impact, $109M state and local tax, ~20,000 jobs — above the revised $845.6M forecast and below the original $929M projection. The analysis was prepared for Visit Seattle by Tourism Economics; its full report, multiplier and displacement treatment have not been released publicly. Independently, this analysis models a documented floor of ~$489M using the 6-Pillar Framework with 5-method triangulation and displacement adjustment. This floor is 42% below the revised $845.6M forecast; the assumption bridge reconciles it to the official $889M. Calculated direct spending: ~$391M. Calculated tax estimate: ~$15.5M (4-method from actual KC/Seattle receipts). NY/NJ post-event: $3.5B (+6% above forecast).
The tournament had a radius. Inside about a mile of Lumen Field it delivered everything promised; beyond it, the effect thinned quickly, and some neighbourhoods went backwards. Every page of this dashboard is one angle on that fact. Follow the five chapters below, or jump to any page from the navigation.
Visit Seattle released its post-event economic impact report on September 22, 2026, reporting $889 million in total economic impact for Seattle and King County, $109 million in state and local tax revenue, and approximately 20,000 jobs supported. That result lands below the original $929M December 2024 projection and above the $846M forecast revised in March 2026.
The gap between that headline and the $489M modeled independently here is not a data dispute. It resolves into three modelling choices: the 12% displacement adjustment, the 1.42× RIMS II multiplier versus the 1.84× implied by Tourism Economics’ New York/New Jersey study, and assumed spending per visitor. Applying all three alternatives to the same underlying evidence produces roughly $850M — within 5% of the published $889M. The bridge was built before the report was issued and it held. See Benchmarks & Reconciliation for the step-by-step derivation.
| Metric | Pre-Event Forecast | Post-Event Calculated | Variance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Economic Impact | $845.6M | $489M | -42.1% | Independent 5-method triangulation |
| Direct Visitor Spending | ~$600M (implied) | $391M | -34.8% | Independent weighted triangulation |
| Tax Revenue (Direct) | $96M | $15.5M | -83.9% | Independent 4-method from actual receipts |
| Tax Revenue (w/ Multiplier) | $96M | $22M | -77.1% | Independent 4-method × 1.42x IMPLAN |
| Hotel Occupancy | ~85% (expected) | 76.8% | -8.2pp | HVS actual |
| Hotel ADR | ~$208 (baseline) | $271.80 | +30.5% | CoStar/STR actual |
| International Visitors | ~225K (forecast) | 180K | -20.0% | KUOW/Visit Seattle |
| CID Sales | +10% (expected) | -22% | -32pp | NW Asian Weekly actual |
| Pioneer Square Sales | Baseline | 3-10x typical | +200-900% | DSA/Placer.ai actual |
| Scenario | Direct Spending | Multiplier | Displacement | Total Impact | vs Forecast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | $280M | 1.35x | 15% | $321M | -62% |
| Base (Central) | $391M | 1.42x | 12% | $489M | -42% |
| High | $520M | 1.50x | 8% | $718M | -15% |
Base: 5-method weighted triangulation ($391M direct) × 1.42x IMPLAN multiplier × 12% displacement. Central scenario.
High: Top-down Method A adjusted ($540M gross × 1.50 after displacement). Assumes low displacement (8%), high multiplier (1.50x), higher visitor spend, minimal leakage. Still below forecast due to flat occupancy and CID displacement.
Formulas Used
| Formula | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Direct Spending (Weighted) | 0.30×A + 0.30×B + 0.15×C + 0.15×D + 0.10×E | $391M |
| Total Impact | Direct × Multiplier × (1 - Displacement) | $489M |
| Tax (Direct) | Lodging×15.70% + Restaurants×10.25% + Retail×10.25% + Transport×8% + B&O×1.5% | $15.5M |
| Tax (w/ Multiplier) | Direct Tax × 1.42x IMPLAN | $22M |
5-Method Inputs
| Method | Approach | Input Value | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| A: Top-Down | 180K intl × 12d × $350 + 225K dom × 6d × $250 | $1,094M | 30% |
| B: Bottom-Up | HVS $44M + Toast $25M + Square $11M + Transit $18M + Events $10M | $118M | 30% |
| C: BofA Macro | +5% of Seattle GDP × 35 days | $81M | 15% |
| D: DSA/Datafy | $821.6M × 6.89% × 40% WC portion | $21M | 15% |
| E: Tax Implied | Tax receipts / 10% blended rate | $126M | 10% |
| Triangulated | Weighted average | $391M | 100% |
What Would Change the Answer Most
| # | Sensitivity Driver | Current Assumption | If Changed | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Visitor home ZIP / nonlocal share | 405K visitors, 180K intl | If 250K intl: +$100M direct | ±$100M |
| 2 | Merchant NAICS + ZIP card spend | Not public (gap) | Would replace Method D with actuals | ±$50M |
| 3 | Final KC/Seattle tax collections (after Jul lag) | Through Jun only | Q3 data would validate Method E | ±$30M |
| 4 | Hotel + STR displacement rate | 12% (mid) | If 5%: +$40M; if 20%: -$40M | ±$40M |
| 5 | FIFA/venue/vendor local procurement | Not measured | Would add B2B spending | +$50-100M |
Class A — Official measured data from government/agency sources (FIFA, Sound Transit, ESD, SPU)
Class B — Provider sample data from commercial platforms (CoStar/STR, Placer.ai, Square, Toast, Datafy, AirDNA, HVS)
Class C — Appropriation/authorization data from legislative sources (WA Session Law, Seattle ordinances, King County budget)
Class D — Published forecast/model, not realized outcome (Tourism Economics $929M / $845.6M projections)
Class E — Not publicly available; requires direct data-owner access (DOR tax receipts, FIFA ticket origin, granular ZIP spending)
| City | Matches | Proj. Impact ($M) | HVS Hotel Rev. | Occ. Gap | RevPAR % | Retail vs Non-Host | Aug. Decline |
|---|
Post-event results published so far, side by side. Periods and sources differ by market and are labelled in each cell; the pattern does not. Counterfactual occupancy and rate for all 11 markets are charted above.
| Market | Matches | Attendance | Official impact | Hotel occupancy | Room rate (ADR) | Public cost disclosed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle | 6 | 401,400 | $889M · $109M tax · ~20,000 jobs | −7% June, −5.7% July (CoStar) · −6.3pp (HVS) | +23% June · peak $340.80 | ~$120M state + local (KUOW) · ~$32M City | Visit Seattle CoStar |
| New York / New Jersey | 8 | 645,000+ | $3.5B · $414.2M tax · 27,424 jobs | 95.7% on the eve of the final (NYC record) | $610.48 that night (NYC record) | NYC ~$70M cost vs ~$55M revenue (Comptroller est.) | Center Square CoStar |
| Boston | 7 | 447,283 | Not published | ~87%, matched 2025 (Jun 12–27) | +20.7% to $410.44 | Not disclosed | FIFA / Meet Boston |
| Houston | 7 | ~1.1M at all events | Not published | 61.6%, flat (June, CoStar) · −1.8pp vs counterfactual (HVS) | +5.8% June citywide · +22.2% match window · match nights up to +53% | Texas: up to $199.8M state cost (Houston + Dallas) | HVS Houston First Harris County–Houston Sports Authority Houston Chronicle |
Houston’s convention bureau: occupancy down 1%, hotel revenue up 20% on rate. Boston: occupancy matched 2025 while rates rose 20.7%. Seattle: occupancy down, rates up. A Seattle hotel advisory firm summed up the local market in six words — “a rate event, not an occupancy event.” Seattle’s distinction is that it had the furthest to fall: Tourism Economics classed it before the tournament as a high-season market with typical June occupancy above 80%, so there were few empty rooms for the event to fill and many regular visitors to crowd out.
Same modeller, different ratios. Tourism Economics prepared both the Seattle and NY/NJ results. Tax runs at a similar share of impact in both — 12.3% in Seattle, 11.8% in NY/NJ. Jobs do not: Seattle reports ~22.5 jobs per $1M of impact against ~7.8 in NY/NJ. That gap is one of the first questions to put to the Seattle workpapers when they are released.
Per match, NY/NJ generated ~$438M against Seattle’s ~$148M; per stadium attendee, ~$5,400 against ~$2,200 — consistent with NY/NJ hosting the final and drawing the larger international contingent. CMRE Partners Houston First Tournament: 6,810,966 attendance
| Estimate | Issued | Total impact | State and local tax | Jobs | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Visit Seattle preliminary projection | December 2024 | $929.0M | $106.5M | 20,762 | Superseded |
| Visit Seattle revised projection | March 2026 | $845.6M | $95.8M | — | Superseded |
| Visit Seattle post-event report | September 22, 2026 | $889.0M | $109.0M | ~20,000 | Official result |
| This analysis — documented floor | September 2026 | $489.0M | $15.5M receipts-based | 10,700 observed | Conservative, fully sourced |
| Named source | Role | Statement |
|---|---|---|
| Kelly Saling | Chief Business Officer, Visit Seattle | “These numbers are a testament to the power of large events and the hospitality industry, and how both can work together to drive economic prosperity in our city and region. At the same time, the benefit goes beyond these immediate figures.” |
| Jorge Gotuzzo | World Cup Activation Lead, Visit Seattle | “Seattle really stood out amongst all of the host cities, and we showed that we are a world-class destination. But it also showed that tourism is very, very important to our city.” |
| Peter Tomozawa | CEO, SeattleFWC26 Local Organizing Committee | “The FIFA World Cup 2026 generated nearly $900 million in economic impact, created more than 35 lasting legacy projects, and showcased a region united in purpose and pride.” |
| Jorge Gotuzzo | World Cup Activation Lead, Visit Seattle | “We showed that we could do it. We would do it again, 100%. The exposure that the city received is hard to put a dollar amount to.” |
| Perry Cooper | Spokesperson, Port of Seattle | “Overall passenger total is -0.01% which is dang near as ‘flat’ as you can be.” |
The composition of the crowd explains why a record turnout produced a result between the two forecasts — and why the displacement adjustment in the bridge below is not optional.
Coverage of the release described the crowd as more local and domestic than international, and Visit Seattle’s activation lead explained why — Seattle drew no team with a travelling mass fanbase: “We didn’t get the Argentinas of this world. We didn’t get the Brazils of this world.” The airport confirms it — June–July passengers were flat to the hundredth of a percent, with a slight international gain offset by a slight domestic dip.
Two implications follow. First, 55% of the ~1.3 million visitors were from Seattle itself, and part of the 45% came from elsewhere in King County — inside the study area. Spending by residents is largely reallocated local money rather than new money, which is exactly what a displacement adjustment captures. Second, the three reasons Visit Seattle gives for beating its revised forecast — more international fans than feared, more overnight visitors at watch parties, and a second USMNT match — all concern the margin above a lowered bar, not a flood of new visitors.
| What moved the forecast | Direction | Stated reason | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 2024 → Mar 2026: $929M → $845.6M | Down 9.0% | Fewer international visitors expected; decreased capital-project spending for the tournament | Visit Seattle |
| Mar 2026 → Sep 2026: $845.6M → $889M | Up 5.1% | More international fans than anticipated; more overnight visitors attending watch parties; a second U.S. Men’s National Team match | Visit Seattle |
| Tax revenue use | — | $109M in state and local tax supports programs including housing, social services and the arts | Visit Seattle |
| Step | Assumption changed | Effect | Running total | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base | 6-Pillar 5-method triangulation: $391.5M direct × 1.42 × 0.88 | — | $489M | Independent modeled estimate |
| 1 | Remove the 12% displacement adjustment | +$66.7M | $555.9M | TE’s NY/NJ study discloses no displacement haircut |
| 2 | Raise the multiplier from 1.42× to 1.84× | +$164.5M | $720.4M | 1.84× is TE’s implied NY/NJ multiplier: $3.5B total ÷ $1.9B direct |
| 3 | Raise per-visitor spend from $994 to ~$1,173 (+18%) | +$129.6M | ~$850M | TE’s NY/NJ direct visitor spend implies ~$2,714 per non-local visitor |
| — | Official Visit Seattle published result, Sep 22, 2026 | — | $889M | Bridge lands within 4.4% of the official figure |
| Component | NY/NJ (8 matches) | Comparison to this analysis |
|---|---|---|
| Total economic impact | $3.5B | Against a $3.3B pre-event projection — +$200M (+6%), the opposite direction to Seattle’s shortfall |
| Direct economic activity | $1.9B | Seattle triangulated direct: $391.5M |
| Indirect business activity | $693M | Indirect + induced = $1.609B, i.e. 0.84× direct — against 0.42× under a 1.42× multiplier |
| Induced activity | $916M | |
| Direct visitor spending | ~$1.7B | Across 626,300 non-local visitors = ~$2,714 per visitor vs ~$994 in this analysis |
| Lodging direct spending | $653M | Nearly equals HVS’s entire 11-city national incremental rooms revenue of $680M |
| Match attendance | 645,000+ | Seattle: 401,400 across 6 matches |
| Non-local visitors | 626,300 | 97% of attendance — Seattle’s 393,860 incremental figure is 98% of attendance, a comparable ratio |
| State & local tax revenue | $414.2M | 11.8% of total impact, vs 3.2% for Seattle’s $15.5M receipts-based calculation — TE’s is modelled, not from receipts |
| Total tax incl. federal | $759M | Sales taxes ~$174M · bed taxes ~$39M |
| Jobs supported | 27,424 | Full- and part-time · $1.4B total labor income |
| Host city | Incremental rooms revenue | Occupancy change | RevPAR change | ADR change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | $339.2M | Essentially unchanged | +23.5% | +$62.27 |
| Los Angeles | $77.2M | +1.0pp | +15.5% | Not stated |
| Boston | $69.3M | −0.5pp | +22.0% | +$43.76 |
| Dallas | $60.8M | +0.7pp | +30.1% | Not stated |
| Miami | $34.2M | −4.6pp | +18.9% | +$26.30 |
| Kansas City | <$25M | −4.6pp | +43.1% | +$41.14 |
| Houston | <$25M | −1.8pp | +22.2% | +$17.10 |
| Philadelphia | <$25M | −3.5pp | +14.8% | Not stated |
| San Francisco | <$25M | +0.3pp | +13.4% | Not stated |
| Atlanta | <$25M | −2.6pp | +9.4% | +$8.31 |
| Seattle | <$25M | −6.3pp — largest decline | +15.7% | +$26.56 |
| 11-city total | $680M | ADR rose in all 11 markets; occupancy fell in 7 of 11 | ||
| Market | Period | Occupancy | ADR | RevPAR | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle | Jan–Apr 2026 | — | $154.38 (+0.9%) | — | Pre-tournament baseline, vs $153.05 a year earlier |
| Seattle | Jun 14–20, 2026 | — | $271.80 (+30.5%) | — | Peak match week rate |
| San Francisco | June 2026 | 80.5% (+7.9%) | $264.42 (+21.7%) | $212.87 (+31.2%) | Full-month host-city comparison |
| San Francisco | Jun 14–20, 2026 | 84.8% | $301.35 (+53.5%) | $255.45 (+80.5%) | Match week — RevPAR gain over five times Seattle’s +15.7% |
| New York | Jul 12–18, 2026 | — | $425.03 (+41.5%) | $377.07 (+40.3%) | Final week · night before the Final: ADR +105.1%, RevPAR +116.1% |
| Seattle metro | TTM through Jul 2026 | 68–69% (−2%) | low-to-mid $180s (+1%) | mid-$120s (flat) | Trailing-twelve-month basis |
| Seattle CBD | Current | ~70% (−2–3%) | ~$230 | low-to-mid $160s | Downtown room nights sold in June ran ~9% above June 2019 |
| Bellevue / Eastside | Current | mid-60s | just above $200 | mid-$130s (+5%) | Eastside outperformed the urban core in the latest month |
The only audited-basis document tying World Cup ridership to actual revenue.
Passenger fare revenue YTD: $42.685M actual vs $38.040M budget — $4.6M or 12.2% above budget, at 112% of budget
Link ridership YTD: 23.253M actual vs 20.645M budget — 113% of budget; the June monthly figure surpassed budget by 20%
Ridership variance contributed +$4.3M of fare revenue above budget: Link +$3.8M, ST Express +$0.3M, Sounder +$0.2M, T Line $0.0M
Average fare per boarding contributed −$0.3M below budget — a fare-compliance signal consistent with the 58–74% paid share
By mode: Link +$4.2M, Sounder +$0.2M, ST Express +$0.2M above budget
YTD revenues and other financing sources of $1,455M were $63M or 5% above budget, driven by sales tax, federal grants and fare revenue
Operationally: World Cup temporary staffing went unutilized; charter bus services ran over budget; T Line overtime rose on World Cup operations; DSTT Modernization underspent on track-access limits; Facility Property underspent under a World Cup construction moratorium; Kent Garage repairs were delayed
Seattle recreation price index +9.8% year over year in June 2026. The County states World Cup activity in the latter part of June likely influenced this growth — the clearest official price-effect evidence available.
King County total employment: −4,900 jobs (−0.3%), Q2 2026 vs Q2 2025
Leisure and hospitality: +1,400 jobs (+1.0%). The County attributes World Cup gains to retail, food service and accommodation, and recreation.
2026 sales tax revenue projected at $1.52B, +14.8%, with taxable sales up more than 8% for the year; the July forecast attributes 7.3% growth to the expanded tax base and World Cup activity, footnoted “Includes World Cup impacts in 2026”
2026 property tax revenue projected at $1.74B; assessed value +5.4%; new construction +3.4%
The report expects additional hotel, lodging and rental car tax revenue from the June and July matches but discloses no quantified World Cup–specific revenue figure. Its county-level quarterly employment measure and state monthly sector counts are different bases and should not be netted against each other.
| Date | Match | Link boardings | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 15, 2026 | Belgium vs Egypt | 221,000 | First match day |
| Jun 19, 2026 | USA vs Australia | 297,000 | Revised upward from an initial 280,000 after further laser-counter downloads |
| Jun 24, 2026 | Bosnia-Herzegovina vs Qatar | 237,000 | — |
| Jun 26, 2026 | Egypt vs Iran | 234,000 | — |
| Jul 1, 2026 | Belgium vs Senegal | 246,000 | Round of 32 |
| Jul 6, 2026 | USA vs Belgium | 309,000 | Busiest World Cup day · 620,000 combined Metro and Sound Transit boardings |
| Six-match Link total as reported | 1,514,000 | Sound Transit Line 1 and Line 2. The per-day figures above sum to ~1,544,000; the difference reflects rounding and the later June 19 upward revision. | |
| Six-match regional total | ~3,400,000 | King County Metro ~1,900,000 plus Sound Transit ~1,500,000 | |
Metro buses 1,800,177
Match Day Shuttle 25,840 · DART routes 25,729
King County Water Taxi 35,014 · Waterfront Shuttle 8,143
Metro Flex 6,773 · Access paratransit 17,633
Seattle Streetcar 37,901 (SDOT-operated, counted separately)
Metro services sum to 1,919,309, consistent with the ~1.9M reported. Match Day Shuttle rides were free and subsidised by SeattleFWC26, and youth soccer fans received free tickets — both reduce fare capture against ridership.
Passenger counts come from lasers inside railcars, not ORCA taps or fare revenue, which is why they exceed payment records. Not all railcars carry counters, and further data downloads have revised figures upward.
June 2026: 5.4M Link boardings, the highest month on record, averaging 180,000 per day
Jun 19: 172,296 payments recorded across ORCA, credit/debit, Transit GO and vending machines, plus 46,083 paper tickets. Treating every paper ticket as a round trip or day pass gives 218,379 paid rides, or nearly 74% of the 297,000 riders; Sound Transit brackets the paid share at 58–74%.
2025 comparison: 61% of riders paid. Early 2026 performance was similar.
Riders aged 18 and under ride free and are estimated at 6–9% of ridership, reimbursed through the state transportation budget. Sound Transit had not calculated June fare revenue at the time of reporting and expected the calculation to take months.
| Metric | Value | Period | Source and note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Downtown visitors across all six match days | 3,000,000+ | Six match days | Placer.ai via DSA · +17% vs the same days in 2025; excludes international visitors, so the true total is higher Class B |
| Downtown attendance, USA vs Australia | 580,000 | Jun 19, 2026 | DSA estimate Class B |
| Downtown attendance, USA vs Belgium | ~548,000 | Jul 6, 2026 | DSA estimate Class B |
| Occidental Square plus mall foot traffic | 436,239 | 13 watch-party dates, 10am–11pm | Placer.ai · Jun 15/18/19/24/26/30, Jul 1/5/6/9–11/19 Class B |
| Westlake Park foot traffic | 129,032 | Same 13 dates | Placer.ai Class B |
| Combined watch-party visits | 565,271 | Same 13 dates | Placer.ai via DSA Class B |
| Occidental Square single day | 28,000 | Jun 19, 2026 | DSA Class B |
| Westlake Park single day | 9,000 | Jun 19, 2026 | DSA Class B |
| Busiest single hour, Occidental Square | ~14,000 | Jul 6, 2026, 5–6pm | Placer.ai · peak hour of the tournament Class B |
| Peak hour, Westlake Park | ~5,000 | Jul 19, 2026, 1–2pm | Placer.ai · World Cup Final watch party Class B |
752,000 visitors across three of the four fan celebrations in the tournament’s first 10 days, preliminary; Victory Hall figures were unavailable at the time of reporting
The original proposal was a single Seattle Center site for 500,000 fans, one of the largest free public events ever held in Seattle. Attendance projections were later cut by half and the model was distributed across four locations.
Visit Seattle had expected World Cup festivities to draw up to 750,000 visitors and locals.
$3.6M City investment in Seattle Center for World Cup preparation
$2.5M appropriated across 2025–26 to replace aging removable vehicle barriers
$1.16M appropriated across 2025–26 for dedicated staff
$1.8M in rental revenue Seattle Center would likely have received from a full-campus takeover — forgone opportunity cost
Seattle Center’s annual budget is about $54M, roughly two-thirds self-generated from commercial operations including parking. Host-committee Fan Fest organising costs were estimated at about $1M per day.
At a July 1, 2026 media conference, CID businesses reported sales declines of as much as 22% over the prior two months against the same period a year earlier — despite the district sitting roughly a 10-minute walk from the stadium.
This is the strongest locally measured support for a non-zero displacement adjustment. The 12% displacement factor applied in this analysis sits well inside what this observation would permit.
Pioneer Square business organisations reported on June 25, 2026 that several establishments recorded their strongest sales performance in recent years. Moonshot Brewing reported +30% across the World Cup months.
Other stadium-adjacent businesses reported declining sales over the same window. The combined evidence shows sharp spatial concentration within a few blocks rather than a uniform citywide lift — precisely the pattern a displacement adjustment exists to capture.
$250,000 distributed in Game Ready Activation Grants
23 organisations supported · 72 community activations
17,131+ King County community members engaged · 248 local businesses showcased
65% of grantees planned to host similar events during the tournament itself.
Local governments and agencies in Washington expect to spend $24M more to host the tournament than they will receive in boosted tax revenue — an independent, statewide-scope result in the same direction as this analysis’s Seattle-scope −$16.5M net fiscal return. The two cover different geographies and are not substitutes.
US host cities have been characterised as “a wash,” unlikely to recoup nine-figure investments.
Host cities receive no share of ticket, concession, merchandise or parking revenue — a structural reason municipal revenue capture lags attendance.
Academic work argues mega-event impact studies systematically overstate net benefits by omitting substitution and displacement.
The $889M analysis was prepared for Visit Seattle by Tourism Economics (Axios), the same firm that produced the New York/New Jersey post-event study. The Seattle report document itself has not been released publicly — only its headline totals. That matters for the bridge below: because both the $889M and the NY/NJ $3.5B come from the same modeller, deriving the multiplier and per-visitor benchmarks from TE’s disclosed NY/NJ internals is a like-for-like comparison, not a cross-model one.
Visit Seattle’s post-event report was released September 22, 2026. Visit Seattle’s own release, and coverage by the Seattle Times, Axios, KNKX/OPB, KING 5, KOMO and MyNorthwest, report the headline totals — $889M impact, $109M state and local tax, approximately 20,000 jobs, around 1.3 million visitors to matches and watch parties. The underlying report document, its methodology, multiplier, displacement treatment and per-visitor spending assumptions have not been published, so the $889M figure cannot yet be reconciled line-by-line or independently replicated.
No SeattleFWC26 Local Organizing Committee After Action Report has been published.
Washington lodging tax actuals cannot yet be verified by any party. The state legislature’s lodging tax reporting system does not open until January 1, 2027 for 2026 revenue and expenditure data. This is a calendar-driven constraint, not a limitation of this analysis.
Consequently the $889M headline is reported but not yet auditable: the modeller is known, but its workpapers are not public. Every figure presented in this analysis is traceable to a published source, and the bridge in Section 1 shows exactly which assumptions move $489M to that range. The appropriate posture for decision-makers is to cite $889M as the official Visit Seattle result while requesting the underlying methodology, and to treat the $489M as the conservative, fully-documented floor.
| Source | Date | Figures drawn | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tourism Economics — World Cup Bump to Overseas Arrivals and Hotel Performance | Sep 18, 2026 | $633.8M incremental room revenue; +36.3% match-date revenue; RevPAR +14.6%/+11.3%/+6.8%; $8.1M per match; 6.5 Super Bowls; overseas arrivals −1.1%/−8.9%/+5.7%; ~0.3% annual RevPAR | tourismeconomics.com |
| Tourism Economics — Host Cities on the Front Foot for FIFA World Cup 26 | Nov 2025 | ~$900M pre-event forecast; 10 Super Bowls framing; 7–25% host-market range; Seattle classed a high-season market with typical June occupancy above 80% | |
| HVS — How the 2026 FIFA World Cup Changed US Hotel Markets | Aug 6, 2026 | $680M 11-city total; Seattle within the sub-$25M band of $23.7M–$8.2M; Seattle −6.3pp occupancy, +$26.56 ADR, +15.7% RevPAR; full city-by-city table | hvs.com |
| Forbes — World Cup Generated $3.5 Billion Across New York And New Jersey | Aug 26, 2026 | $3.5B total vs $3.3B projection; $1.9B direct; $693M indirect; $916M induced; $1.7B visitor spending; $653M lodging; 626,300 non-local visitors; 645,000+ attendance; $414.2M state and local tax; $759M total tax; 27,424 jobs; $1.4B labor income; TE authorship and methodology statement | forbes.com |
| Sound Transit — Quarterly Financial Performance Report, Q2 2026 | Q2 2026 | Fare revenue $42.685M vs $38.040M budget (+12.2%); Link ridership 23.253M vs 20.645M budget (113%); June 20% over budget; +$4.3M ridership variance and modal splits; −$0.3M average-fare variance; $1,455M YTD revenues (+$63M); World Cup staffing, charter bus, moratorium and DSTT notes | |
| King County Office of Economic and Financial Analysis — ECONPULSE, Q2 2026 | Q2 2026 | Recreation price index +9.8%; employment −4,900 (−0.3%); leisure and hospitality +1,400 (+1.0%); sales tax $1.52B (+14.8%); taxable sales +7.3%/+8%; property tax $1.74B; assessed value +5.4% | |
| Seattle Times — light rail records and fare payment analysis | 2026 | All six match-day boardings; 280,000→297,000 revision; 5.4M June total; 180,000 daily average; 172,296 payments; 46,083 paper tickets; 218,379 paid rides; 58–74% vs 61% in 2025; laser-counter basis; 6–9% youth share | seattletimes.com |
| King County Metro — tournament ridership summary | Jul 10, 2026 | ~3.4M six-day regional total; Metro ~1.9M; Link 1,514,000; 620,000 on the final Seattle match day; Metro buses 1,800,177; Match Day Shuttle 25,840; Water Taxi 35,014; DART 25,729; Waterfront Shuttle 8,143; Metro Flex 6,773; Access 17,633; Streetcar 37,901 | kingcountymetro.blog |
| Downtown Seattle Association — Seattle’s World Cup Summer by the Numbers | Jul 23, 2026 | 3M+ downtown visitors (+17%); 580,000 and ~548,000 match-day totals; 436,239 and 129,032 foot traffic; 565,271 combined; 28,000 and 9,000 single-day; ~14,000 and ~5,000 peak hours | downtownseattle.org |
| Seattle Times — fan festival distribution and Seattle Center costs | Jun 26, 2026 | 752,000 first-10-day attendance; 500,000 original plan and 50% reduction; $3.6M, $2.5M, $1.16M, $1.8M; ~$54M annual budget; ~$1M per day organising estimate | seattletimes.com |
| CMRE Partners — Seattle and Bellevue hotel market review | Sep 9, 2026 | Metro 68–69% occupancy (−2%), ADR low-to-mid $180s (+1%), RevPAR mid-$120s; CBD ~70%, ~$230, low-to-mid $160s; Eastside mid-60s, just above $200, mid-$130s (+5%); peak-week ADR ~+30% with occupancy below baseline; June ADR ~+10%; downtown room nights ~9% above June 2019 | cmrepartners.com |
| Travel And Tour World — host-market hotel performance | Sep 19, 2026 | Seattle ADR $154.38 (+0.9%) and $271.80 (+30.5%); SF June 80.5%/$264.42/$212.87 and match week 84.8%/$301.35/$255.45; NYC Jul 12–18 $425.03/$377.07 and pre-Final +105.1%/+116.1% | travelandtourworld.com |
| Visit Seattle — 2025 visitation data release | May 13, 2026 | 39.7M visitors (−0.6%); $8.8B spending (−0.3%); 68,623 jobs (+0.8%); $840M state and local taxes (+0.1%); $893 household offset; up to 750,000 expected World Cup visitors and locals | visitseattle.org |
| Governing — The World Cup Is an Economic Bonanza? Think Again. | Jul 10, 2026 | Washington public agencies expect to spend $24M more than they receive in boosted tax revenue | governing.com |
| NW Asian Weekly — CID businesses say World Cup windfall is bypassing their neighborhood | Jul 2, 2026 | CID sales declines of as much as 22% over two months; Pioneer Square strongest sales in recent years | nwasianweekly.com |
| The Guardian — Seattle businesses near World Cup stadium report declining sales | Jul 6, 2026 | Declining sales at stadium-adjacent businesses | theguardian.com |
| Visit Seattle — post-event economic impact report | Sep 22, 2026 | $889M total impact; $109M state and local tax; ~20,000 jobs; mixed hospitality results; occupancy down YoY | MyNorthwest · KING 5 · Seattle Times |
| Port of Seattle — CBC pilot authorization | 2022–24 | $650,000 approved; 7 Connectors at $30K–$40K each; launched Jan 2023 | portseattle.org |
| CBC — From Recovery to Readiness | 2024 | 2,000+ businesses; 31 jurisdictions; 102 jobs retained; 93 new jobs; $282K capital investment; 90% BIPOC/women-owned | communitybusinessconnector.com |
| Seattle Office of Arts & Culture | Sep 16, 2026 | $2.3M to 29 organizations, 100+ events, 16 neighborhoods; Pioneer Square watch party ~20,000 for USA–Australia | artbeat.seattle.gov |
| Seattle Metro Chamber — Game Ready grants | Sep 19, 2025 | $250,000; King County lodging tax funded; awards as announced $5K–$20K (final report lists four tiers, $2.5K–$20K); promoted for areas outside Seattle | seattlechamber.com · KNKX |
| CoStar — host-market hotel performance | Jul 2026 | Seattle occupancy 60.6%–85.4% during matches; −7% June, −5.7% July YoY; rates +23% June, +15.76% July; peak $340.80 on Jun 20 | The Center Square |
| Visit Bellevue — preliminary impact | Jul 10, 2026 | $12.5M overnight visitor impact; ~14,500 room nights; ~17,600 long-haul visitors; ADR +14.2%; 13% of KC lodging | downtownbellevue.com |
| Community Business Connector — grant report | 2025–26 | $250,000 to 23 organisations; 72 activations; 248 businesses; 17,131+ community members; 74% BIPOC- or women-led; $222,000 leveraged; 65% planned World Cup activations | communitybusinessconnector.com |
| The News Tribune — Sea-Tac Airport sees record travel during FIFA World Cup | Jun 25, 2026 | Jun 21 ~203,000 travelers, third-busiest day in airport history | thenewstribune.com |
| NBC Right Now — local impacts from World Cup 2026 | Aug 31, 2026 | $100M federal transit funding; $32M Washington state set-aside; Moonshot Brewing +30%; no host-city share of ticket, concession, merchandise or parking revenue | nbcrightnow.com |
| Washington Times — host cities unlikely to recoup nine-figure investments | Jun 10, 2026 | US host cities characterised as “a wash” | washingtontimes.com |
| NC State University — The Economics of the FIFA World Cup: Who Really Profits? | Jun 24, 2026 | Academic basis for substitution and displacement adjustments | cnr.ncsu.edu |
| Washington State Legislature — lodging tax reporting | — | Reporting system opens January 1, 2027 for 2026 revenue and expenditure data | leg.wa.gov |
| United 2026 — Economic Impact of the Tournament | Nov 2025 study | $12.8B additional GDP across 16 host cities over the 39-day window | united-2026.com |
| FIFA — final tournament statistics | Jul 2026 | 6,810,966 total attendance; 65,490 average per match; 104 matches; 1994 record 3,587,538 | tournament record |
| City | Businesses | Reporting both | Gross sales | Business spend | Net | Return on spend | Profit / even / no |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maple Valley – Black Diamond | 4 | 4 | $9,625.95 | $1,925.00 | +$7,700.95 | +400% | 2 / 2 / 0 |
| White Center | 6 | 4 | $2,700.00 | $640.00 | +$2,060.00 | +322% | 2 / 0 / 4 |
| SeaTac | 3 | 3 | $2,950.00 | $1,632.72 | +$1,317.28 | +81% | 2 / 1 / 0 |
| Skyway | 2 | 1 | $33.00 | $610.00 | −$577.00 | −95% | 1 / 0 / 1 |
| Federal Way | 13 | 13 | $11,576.84 | $22,595.00 | −$11,018.16 | −49% | 0 / 1 / 12 |
| Kent | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | No business-survey responses |
| Burien | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | No business-survey responses |
| Total | 28 | 25 | $26,885.79 | $27,402.72 | −$516.93 | −1.9% | 7 / 4 / 17 |
The host-venue model worked. In Maple Valley–Black Diamond the chamber distributed funds to individual businesses that hosted viewing in their own establishments. Those businesses already had the space, screens, staff and licences, so incremental cost was low — $1,925 across four businesses — and every dollar of attendance converted into sales at their own margins. Result: +$7,701, a fourfold return on what businesses spent, with zero unprofitable participants. White Center’s district-wide art walk model performed similarly on a small base, at +$2,060 on $640 spent.
The central-festival vendor model did not. Federal Way concentrated activity at a single venue with vendor booths. Participating businesses bore booth fees, inventory, transport, permits and staffing before earning anything — $22,595 spent, 82% of all business spending across the entire program, to generate $11,577. Twelve of thirteen Federal Way businesses did not make a profit. This is where the Chamber’s next dollar has the most to gain from a design change.
Community connection — the single most-cited benefit, named by 17 of 28 businesses, ahead of every commercial outcome
Event-readiness capacity — 12 of 28 gained confidence participating in future activations; 8 gained experience preparing for larger events
Labor — 99 additional workers and 312 volunteer hours; 11 businesses increased hours for existing employees, 3 added temporary staff, 9 drew on volunteer or family support
Reach — 222 small businesses touched beyond the organizing bodies; organizers reported 7 of 8 seeing new customers and visibility gains for participants
Spillover — 4 of 8 organizers confirmed non-participating neighbours benefited from foot traffic; the remaining 4 were unsure, none said no
Media — 5 of 8 activations earned press or public recognition, including neighbourhood blog coverage of the White Center art walk
Profit — 17 of 28 businesses did not profit; only 7 did
New customers — 18 of 28 reported none or very few; just 1 reported most
Brand awareness — 17 of 28 saw no noticeable change in awareness of their business
World Cup pull — 17 of 28 said the World Cup theme had no noticeable impact on attracting customers. The theme was not, by itself, the draw.
Attendance — 18 of 28 businesses named low attendance or customer traffic as their leading challenge, by a wide margin over every other option
Follow-on business — 15 reported no follow-up sales, bookings, leads or referrals; 9 reported some, 4 expect some later
| Organization | Activation | Location | Attendance | Businesses reached | Workers | Volunteer hrs | Vendor sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle Southside Chamber of Commerce | Watch party at BullPen | SeaTac | 5,000 | 57 | 14 | 120 | $15,000 |
| White Center Business Alliance | Soccer-themed Rat City Art Walk | White Center Business District | 500 | 26 | 20 | 60 | Not tracked |
| White Center Business Alliance | Lariat watch party and art walk | White Center Business District | 200 | 60 | 12 | 12 | $8,000 |
| Brave New World Enterprises | Watch party | Federal Way Performing Arts & Event Center | 400 | 11 | 35 | 10 | ~$2,500 |
| The Souk Gallery | Gallery viewing activation | Skyway · Renton Ave S | 215 | 8 | 3 | 20 | Not tracked |
| Kent Chamber of Commerce | Business expo, employer summit, watch party | Kent East Hill, International Mall | 200 | 54 | 15 | 90 | Not tracked |
| Skyway Coalition | Beachcomber Bar & Grill and Aisle4our viewings | Skyway | 150 | 2 | 0 | 0 | $1,000 |
| Greater Maple Valley Black Diamond Chamber | Distributed grants to host businesses | Various participating businesses | Not collected | 4 | Not collected | 0 | Not tracked |
| Total | 6,665 | 222 | 99 | 312 | $26,500 | ||
| Cost category | Businesses incurring it | Implication for fund design |
|---|---|---|
| Inventory, ingredients, or products | 19 of 28 | Largest and least recoverable outlay when attendance underperforms — perishable risk sat entirely with the business |
| Marketing, signage, printing, photography, design | 14 of 28 | Duplicated across businesses; a district-level campaign would cost less than the sum of individual efforts |
| Staffing, payroll, contractors, helpers | 13 of 28 | Real labor income created, but funded from business margin rather than the grant |
| Venue, booth, vendor space, participation fees | 11 of 28 | A fixed cost charged before any sale — the mechanism most directly responsible for the Federal Way losses |
| Décor, displays, uniforms, packaging, branded materials | 10 of 28 | Largely single-use; reusable shared assets would lower repeat cost |
| Equipment, rentals, tents, tables, chairs, supplies | 8 of 28 | Strong candidate for a shared equipment pool |
| Permits, insurance, licences, compliance | 7 of 28 | 4 of 8 organizers requested permitting or regulatory guidance |
| Transportation, delivery, parking, loading | 5 of 28 | One food truck specifically cited the absence of overnight parking for perishable stock |
Additional funding or reimbursement — 21
Marketing and promotion support — 20
Vendor or partner matchmaking — 13
Permitting, compliance, or public viewing guidance — 4
Event planning templates or technical assistance — 4
Help tracking sales, attendance, or engagement — 4
Additional funding or sponsorship support — 6
Marketing and promotion support — 7
Business readiness training — 4
Permitting or regulatory guidance — 3
Vendor or partner matchmaking, planning templates, tracking tools — 2 each
One organizer added simply that they need more lead time to plan
Short notice appears in open-text answers across both surveys more than any other theme. Organizers described making adjustments to established events on compressed timelines; businesses described being unable to market.
One Skyway organizer reported both participating businesses “struggled with the last minuteness” and had smaller turnouts as a result.
A Federal Way business stated it would have advertised heavily, including in local print, with earlier notice. Another concluded that in-person flyers and promotional cards would have outperformed the digital advertising it ran.
Booth placement. Multiple Federal Way vendors reported being positioned behind the stage, out of customer sightlines. One stated plainly that knowing placement in advance would play a major role in success.
Uneven voucher access. One vendor reported that some businesses at the same location received attendee vouchers redeemable at their booths while others did not, and asked to be included next time.
Cuisine overlap and logistics. A food vendor asked for no duplicate cuisine categories, overnight parking for perishable stock, and realistic attendance projections.
Fee structure. One business proposed a percentage-of-sales model instead of a flat fee so that cost scales with actual traffic.
| # | Recommendation | Evidence base |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Default to the host-venue model. Fund existing licensed venues to host in their own space rather than assembling vendors at a central site. | Maple Valley–Black Diamond returned +400% on business spend with 0 of 4 unprofitable; Federal Way returned −49% with 12 of 13 unprofitable |
| 2 | Eliminate or reimburse up-front booth and participation fees. Where a central format is used, convert flat fees to a percentage of sales or cover them from the grant. | 11 of 28 businesses paid venue or booth fees; fixed pre-sale cost is the direct mechanism of the Federal Way deficit; a participant independently proposed the percentage model |
| 3 | Set a minimum 8–12 week notification window. Announce awards early enough for businesses to market and order stock. | Short lead time is the most frequent open-text complaint across both surveys and is tied directly to reported low turnout |
| 4 | Fund district-level marketing centrally rather than per business. | 14 of 28 businesses each paid separately for marketing; 20 businesses and 7 organizers name promotion support as a need; awareness gains were not achieved in 17 of 28 cases |
| 5 | Publish booth placement, cuisine mix, and voucher eligibility before vendors commit. | Named directly by Federal Way vendors as the difference between success and failure at the same event |
| 6 | Require a light, common reporting template as a condition of award. | Vendor sales were captured by only 4 of 8 organizers; 4 organizers and 4 businesses asked for tracking tools; Kent and Burien produced no business-level responses at all |
| 7 | Build a shared equipment and signage pool. | 8 businesses paid for rentals and 10 for largely single-use décor and branded material |
| 8 | Convert willing participants into an evidence base now. 14 businesses agreed to interviews or spotlights and 18 want future funding information. | Retains the 20 of 28 repeat-intent cohort and supplies the qualitative record the next funding case will need |
One response reports a range. A SeaTac vendor (Commemorative Sports Towel) reported sales of “$350–$700 per activation.” The $700 upper figure is used in the SeaTac total ($2,950.00) and the program net (−$516.93). At the $350 lower figure, SeaTac nets +$967.28 and the program net is −$866.93. No conclusion on this page changes.
The exported files are each missing one response. The business export contains 27 of 28 recorded responses and the organizer export 7 of 8. In both cases the absent record is a Skyway participant. Cross-referencing the response summaries identifies them as the Skyway Coalition organizer record and the Beachcomber Bar & Grill business record. Counts on this page use the full recorded totals of 28 and 8; the revenue and spending arithmetic uses only the 25 businesses in the export that reported both figures, so the Beachcomber record — free food and merchandise given away against about $1,000 spent — is excluded. Including it would widen the net result to roughly −$1,500.
Revenue and spending were free-text entries, not validated fields. Several were ranges or multi-event totals. Where a range was given the upper bound is used; where a figure covered multiple dates it is counted once. Two businesses could not state revenue and are excluded from the paired arithmetic.
Self-reported, unaudited, and not receipts-verified. These are participant recollections collected after the fact, not point-of-sale records. They should be cited as survey findings and not merged into the receipts-based tax calculation elsewhere in this dashboard.
Kent and Burien have organizer activity but no business-level responses. Kent Chamber reported reaching 54 businesses and Burien appears in the fund’s scope, yet neither produced a single business survey response. Any citywide comparison must state this absence rather than imply a zero result.
| Phase | Period | Funding | Funder | Structure and reach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CBC pilot | 2022–2024, launched January 2023 | $650,000 | Port of Seattle, approved by Port Commission | Seven Connectors, $30,000–$40,000 each over a 12-month period, across five geographic hubs |
| World Cup Ready launch | July 1, 2025 | — | Seattle Metro Chamber | Chamber named official business support liaison by SeattleFWC26; toolkits, case studies, World Cup Ready AI chatbot, and CBC activation grants announced Chamber release |
| Game Ready Activation Grants | Rolling RFQ Aug 12–Nov 2025; activations complete by Dec 27, 2025 | $250,000 | King County lodging tax, with an interlocal agreement with the Port of Seattle | Four tiers ($2.5K, $5K, $10K, $20K); 23 organizations; 72 activations reported across 15 King County areas; 17,131+ community members; 248 businesses; 74% BIPOC- or women-led grantees; $222,000 leveraged CBC final report |
| Small Business Readiness Playbook | Released January 14, 2026 | — | Puyallup Tribe of Indians, WA Dept. of Commerce, WA State Public Stadium Authority, Seattle Foundation; RFP funded in part by King County | Statewide mega-event guide with SeattleFWC26; Monument Advocacy consultant lead via an Inclusive Data RFP; graphic-novel edition; case studies from the Eras Tour, 2023 MLB All-Star Week, Hoopfest, 2024 NFL Draft and Atlanta 1996 Playbook Chamber release |
| CBC Business Ready Portal | 2026 | — | Seattle Metro Chamber (powered by HUUB) | Free one-stop portal open to small businesses in all 39 King County jurisdictions: event calendars, technical-assistance booking, B2B exchange, partner forums World Cup Ready |
| World Cup Small Business Activation Grant (Watch Party & Business Activation Fund) | Summer 2026, tournament period | Not disclosed | Administered by Inclusive Data on behalf of the Chamber | The round measured on this page. Watch-party funding for South King County and unincorporated areas; closed with all funds allocated and awardees notified Inclusive Data portal |
Outside Seattle, the Chamber was the tournament’s main small-business channel. It served as SeattleFWC26’s official small-business liaison and as King County’s designated Associate Development Organization, and it runs the CBC network through which every round on this page was delivered.
| CBC hub | Communities | Participants | Small businesses | New jobs expected | Staff retained | Planned World Cup activation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hub 1 | Bothell, Kenmore, Shoreline, Woodinville | 12K | 53 | 19 | 15 | 80% |
| Hub 2 | Bellevue, Issaquah, Kirkland, Redmond, Renton | 606 | 70 | 14 | 23 | 71% |
| Hub 3 | Burien, Des Moines, SeaTac, Skyway, Tukwila, White Center | 2.3K | 60 | 25 | 23 | 71% |
| Hub 4 | Auburn, Black Diamond, Covington, Federal Way, Kent, Maple Valley | 1K | 42 | 5 | 5 | 40% |
| Hub 5 | Carnation, Fall City, North Bend, Preston, Sammamish | 66 | 8 | 10 | 2 | 100% |
| Non-hub | Remaining cities and unincorporated areas | 853 | 15 | 59 | 43 | 50% |
| All hubs | 23 grantees | 17.1K | 248 | 132 | 111 | 65% |
Hubs 3 and 4, highlighted, cover every community in the Watch Party & Business Activation Fund. In the Game Ready round they reported 102 small businesses, about 3,300 participants, 30 expected jobs and 28 retained staff. Hub 4 — Federal Way, Kent and Maple Valley–Black Diamond — had the lowest share of grantees planning a World Cup activation (40%). The Watch Party round then produced both ends of the result: Maple Valley–Black Diamond’s +400% and Federal Way’s −$11,018.
The Game Ready report publishes grantee self-reports of reach and intent, not business revenue or cost. The Watch Party surveys analysed on this page add that layer — individual business revenue against cost — which is the evidence the next funding round needs. One reconciliation point: the report’s headline cites 72 activations across 15 King County cities, while its 15 area snapshots (14 cities plus unincorporated areas) itemise 52; the Chamber can confirm which count is final. CBC Game Ready final report
| Year | Recognition | For | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Washington Economic Development Association Award for Business Support Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion | Community Business Connector | Playbook foreword |
| 2024 | International Economic Development Council Excellence Silver Award, Regional and Cross-Border Partnership | Community Business Connector | Playbook foreword |
| June 17, 2026 | BREI Award of Excellence, State/Province category, and BREI Impact Award | Small Business Readiness Playbook | Chamber release |
The Chamber’s 2025 King County Small Business Support Audit surveyed 85 service providers — 53 nonprofits and 32 private businesses and public agencies, a response rate of nearly 50%. About half were BIPOC-led, and the audit found support for second-stage businesses above $1M in revenue insufficient. King County SB Support Audit The Chamber’s grantmaking review recommends budgeting roughly 25% beyond the grant pool for applicant support and impact capture. Best-practices report
| Speaker | Role | Statement | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rachel Smith | then President & CEO, Seattle Metro Chamber | “This is an opportunity for smaller businesses across Washington state to become household names for soccer fans everywhere by really contributing to them having an experience of a lifetime.” (July 2025) | Chamber |
| Vaughn Taylor | Vice President of Economic Development | “We approached this work by listening first. Small businesses told us what they wanted to understand better about large events and how guidance could be clearer and easier to use.” | Chamber |
| Lynnette Buffington | Chief of Staff | “This Playbook was created for small businesses in cities, towns, and rural communities across Washington. Our focus was on practical guidance that businesses can actually use, no matter their size, location, or experience with major events.” | Chamber |
| Joe Nguyen | President & CEO (since January 2026) | “The Small Business Readiness Playbook is the result of deep collaboration, and we’re proud it’s helping businesses prepare, compete, and succeed.” | Chamber |
| Joe Nguyen | 144th Annual Meeting, Sept 10, 2026, 800+ attendees | “When businesses succeed, our values get funded… You cannot fund compassion from an empty treasury.” He noted the tri-county economy produces $600B a year, 71% of state output. | GeekWire |
| City | Activation | Dates and venue | Funding and partners |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal Way | Kickin’ It Federal Way | June 19–21, 2026 · Performing Arts & Event Center | Port of Seattle grant and Arts Foundation of Federal Way |
| Federal Way | The Final Match Watch Party | July 19, 2026 · PAEC and Town Square Park | Brave New World and Black Eco Chamber with the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber; coalition included Seattle Latino Metro Chamber, African Chamber of Commerce PNW, Filipino Chamber PNW, Seattle Linked, Greater Seattle Korean Association |
| White Center | Rat City Art Walk soccer celebration | July 16, 2026 · 5–8pm | King County Local Services and the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber; four scavenger-hunt stops at Future Primitive, Patrick’s Bakery, Salvadorean Bakery and Nepantla, with prize redemption at Puffy Pandy |
| SeaTac | City of SeaTac watch parties | Every match, every day through July 19 · two sites | Stoup SeaTac City and Métier Brewing Angle Lake / The Bull Pen, free admission |
| Burien | Burien Fan Zone, “Summer of Soccer” | 16 listed dates · Burien Town Square Park | Paired with the Discover Burien Farmers Market |
| Kent | Business Expo and Employer Summit | July 16, 2026 · 11am–8pm · accesso ShoWare Center | Kent Chamber, sponsorships $1,125–$7,500. Kent Chamber ran 112 events in 2025 for 1,500+ unique attendees against 470 members |
| Skyway | Skyway Coalition watch party | Tournament period | 150 attendance, 2 businesses, $1,000 vendor sales reported |
| Skyway | Souk Gallery World Cup Watch Party | July 11, 2026 · The Souk Gallery, 11805 Renton Ave S | 215 attendance, 8 businesses, 3 workers, 20 volunteer hours |
| Maple Valley–Black Diamond | Direct business grants, host-venue model | Tournament period | Greater Maple Valley Black Diamond Chamber, grants to 4 businesses, no central event |
| Tukwila | Tukwila United Block Party and Viewing Lounge | Block party June 13, noon–9pm on Baker Blvd; lounge June 11–July 19 at Westfield Southcenter | City of Tukwila · outside the survey scope |
| Jurisdiction or program | Public funding | Reach | Per-organization |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle Office of Arts & Culture | $2,300,000 | 29 organizations, 100+ events, 16 neighborhoods | ~$79,300 |
| Seattle Department of Neighborhoods | ~$1,300,000 | Neighborhood and small-business readiness | — |
| Redmond | $125,000+ | 28 organizations | ~$4,500 |
| CBC Game Ready Grants — rest of King County | $250,000 | 23 organizations, 72 activations | ~$10,900 |
Seattle’s arts and culture allocation alone was 9.2 times the CBC Game Ready total that served the rest of King County, and roughly 7.3 times as much per funded organization. Counting the Department of Neighborhoods investment, Seattle-directed activation funding approached $3.6M against $250,000 for the balance of the county — a ratio of about 14 to 1. The single largest watch party in the region, HOMETEAM’s Brick Park site in Pioneer Square, drew nearly 20,000 for USA–Australia on June 19, more than triple the 6,665 combined attendance recorded across all eight fund-supported South King County activations.
Kent Chamber CEO Zenovia Harris named this directly ahead of the tournament: “We are not going to allow all of the money to go to those businesses in Seattle.” The survey results on this page are the measured test of that effort — and they show the smaller South King County activations produced a net −$516.93 across 25 reporting businesses, concentrated almost entirely in one central-festival model, while the host-venue model returned positive results at a fraction of the cost.
Inn at the Market (79 rooms): Occupancy -4%, Rate +40%
Hotel Andra (123 rooms): Occupancy -15%, Rate +30%
Source: The Guardian, July 2026
Match Day Shuttle: Frequency increased from 7min to 3min
Waterfront Shuttle: 10min frequency
48 added weekday bus trips: Routes 40, 70, 101, 150
Accessible shuttle: 20min frequency
Metro Flex: 10 vehicles, 8 drivers
West Seattle Water Taxi: +4 weekday roundtrips
Vashon Water Taxi: +7 Sunday roundtrips
Streetcar: 12min frequency on match days
SEA Airport: ~605,000 travelers across 3 busy days; ~1.2M over 3-week span
WA State Ferries: >9.4M riders YTD through Jun 28, +425K vs 2025; 20 of 21 vessels available
WSDOT: Paused I-5 Ship Canal Bridge work during tournament
Team Base Camps: Belgium (Renton, Sounders FC), Egypt (Gonzaga/Spokane), UW practice venue
Single-day record (Jun 19): 83,000 trips — new Seattle record, surpassing Super Bowl parade (60,000+)
Group-stage trips (Jun 15-21): >300,000 trips across all devices
Lime is sole shared e-bike/scooter provider in Seattle
Fleet: 15,000 devices total
• 7,000 scooters
• 4,000 LimeGliders
• 3,300 Gen 4 e-bikes
• 700 LimeBikes
Gen 4.1 scooters: 3,500 deployed with Lime Vision (AI sidewalk/collision detection)
SDOT parking corrals: 230+ painted by Seattle Department of Transportation
Fan Pass: $12.99 for 90 minutes (>70% discount vs standard); available through Jul 19
Helmets: 2,500 distributed pre-tournament + 3,000 planned for summer events = 5,500 total
Q1 2026 Seattle rides: 2.3M, up ~50% YoY
2025 annual shared trips: 10.5M (+60% vs 2024)
Jan-May 2026: +42% vs 2025
Georgetown warehouse: Maintains entire Seattle-region fleet (Seattle, Bothell, Redmond, Woodinville, Everett, Shoreline)
Pioneer Square: Pedestrian zone on all 6 match days; devices geofenced to 8mph
Jul 2 (Round of 16 match day): 204,000 passengers — potentially top 10 busiest day ever
Jul 3: 175,000 passengers
Jul 4 (Independence Day): 141,000 passengers
Jul 5: 191,000 passengers
Jul 6 (R16 match day): 188,000 passengers
Jun-Aug 2026 average: 175,781 passengers/day; >16M total for summer
YoY change: ~+1% vs 2025
TSA national screening (Jul 2): >3M travelers — highest volume day
AAA July 4 holiday travelers: 72.2M nationally (vs 71.8M prior year record)
WA State Ferries: >9.4M riders YTD through Jun 28, +425K vs 2025; 20 of 21 vessels available
WSDOT: Paused I-5 Ship Canal Bridge work during tournament
SEA Spot Saver: Unavailable 6-10am on Jul 5, 6, 9, 10
Team Base Camps: Belgium (Renton, Sounders FC), Egypt (Gonzaga/Spokane), UW practice venue
State B&O Tax: Applies to business gross receipts
Retail Sales Tax: State + local sales tax on taxable retail sales
Lodging Tax: State hotel/motel tax + local convention center tax
STR Tax: Short-term rental tax applies to Airbnb/VRBO
Seattle Admission Tax: 5% generally; Lumen Field and T-Mobile Park are exempt
Seattle Commercial Parking Tax: 14.5%; Lumen Field and T-Mobile Park are exempt
Applications: 35,000 for 2,000 slots (17.5:1 ratio)
Shortlisted: ~3,500 for in-person tryouts (Jan 2026)
FIFA volunteers: ~1,400 (inside Lumen Field — match ops, teams, accredited areas)
Washington Youth Soccer: ~600 (Fan Celebration, Unity Loop, Last Mile, waterfront)
Minimum commitment: 8 shifts per volunteer
Training: eLearning, cultural competency, safeguarding, accessibility, service excellence, role/venue-specific
Benefits: Uniform, accreditation, meals, certificate, volunteer-only spaces
Compensation: Unpaid; no match tickets provided
Applications closed: October 10, 2025
King Co unemployment: 5.7% (Jan peak) → ~5.0% (Q2)
Truck driver job openings: +231% MoM — frontline services surge
Security guard openings: +146% MoM — WC-related demand
Software engineer postings: -56% — steepest decline
Tech layoffs (King Co): 7,453 workers; ~75% in information sector
Hiring shift: From tech industry toward healthcare and frontline services
Frontline-service growth: May be partly attributable to World Cup; data being examined post-event
WA public safety grant total: $33.1M ($30.6M federal FEMA/DHS + $2.5M state)
SPD WC allocation: $8.6M (overtime, perimeter security, equipment)
SFD WC allocation: $4.1M (overtime and equipment)
SDOT WC allocation: $938K (Pike Place barrier, signage)
SPD counter-drone: $2.1M DHS grant
SPD equipment: $757K (barriers, trailers, CCTV in Stadium District)
WC Planning Reserve: $2M (Payroll Expense Tax)
King Co public safety: $25M allocation
Seattle total WC appropriations: ~$32M (2025-2026, all depts)
Spokane Co EDU grant: $726K (federal, Explosive Disposal Unit)
USCG lodging contract: $350K-$500K (Coast Guard personnel Jun 13-Jul 7)
The best test of displacement is what happens once the event leaves. The August data — the first full month without a match — is now in.
Match-week hotel occupancy was 73.9%; once the tournament left it rose to 90.5%. August then became downtown’s busiest visitor month in more than seven years, with hotel rooms sold up 3% on August 2025. The regular summer visitors who avoided the crowds and prices did not disappear — they rescheduled. That is displacement in its plainest form, and it is why this analysis deducts it rather than counting every June dollar as new.
The labour data tells the same story from the other side. Washington added about 10,700 leisure and hospitality jobs from May through July, and state economists called their durability “unclear.” August answered: the sector shed 3,700 statewide, 3,500 of them in accommodation and food services — roughly one in three of the tournament-season gain. The Seattle metro lost about 700 jobs overall; its unemployment rate was a preliminary 4.8%. MyNorthwest / DSA DSA dashboard WA ESD, Aug 2026 BLS Seattle MSA WSDOT
Link’s records are real and Class A — 5.4M boardings in June, nearly a million above the previous monthly high, and 309,000 on July 6. But the baseline moved before the tournament began: the Crosslake Connection opened in March and Link ridership jumped 46% in April, making it the busiest light rail system in the country. The fair World Cup attribution is the increment above the post-Crosslake baseline — on the order of the ~1M-boarding margin over the prior record — not the full 5.4M. The system carried the record without a major breakdown, according to Sound Transit’s post-tournament review. Sound Transit APTA Passenger Transport Seattle Transit Blog
| Source | Amount | Scope | Evidence Class |
|---|
SPD: $10,649,000 · SFD: $4,091,000 · SDOT: $938,000
Plus IT, Seattle Center, CARE, OEM allocations
SPD drone-threat grant: $2,084,569 · Barrier/safety budget: $3.6M
Debris removed: 294,575 lb
Single-use items avoided: 20,000
Campaign impressions: 3.2M+
People reached: 700K+
New water refill stations: 7
SEA&WIN: 3,000+ unique players, 685 avg daily users; 220+ Super Fan Loop visits, ~100 Unity/Pride Loop visits
Youth Match Access: 1,400+ youth and caregivers sent to World Cup matches
RAVE Mini-Pitches: 33 statewide, with additional pitches in legacy planning
Frontline Worker Training: 2,500 workers trained in human-trafficking awareness
Seattle Center LET'S PLAY SEA '26: 39 days, 60+ matches, daily indoor viewing + outdoor cultural programming
CBC Game Ready Activation Grants: $250K to 23 orgs, 72 activations, 17,131+ King County community members engaged, ~250 local businesses received opportunities
CID Stamp Book Challenge: 72 participating businesses, $10+ purchase threshold, Jun 15-Jul 6
Seattle OED: Outdoor dining, Pioneer Square/South Downtown outreach, marketing consulting, procurement readiness, flexible capital, business-resilience work
| Community | Official Status | Verified Attendance | Additional Notes |
|---|
YTD riders through Jun 28, 2026: >9.4M (+425K vs 2025)
Vessels: 20 of 21 available
WSF explicitly stated World Cup visitors were adding to summer demand, but the 425K YoY system increase cannot be assigned wholly to FIFA.
Belgium: Renton (Sounders FC facility)
Egypt: Gonzaga University, Spokane
UW: Practice venue for tournament teams
Status: Visit Seattle released the official post-event result on September 22, 2026 — $889M, prepared by Tourism Economics. The full report and methodology have not been released publicly as of September 29, 2026, so an independent estimate ($489M documented floor) has been triangulated from published receipts and reconciled to the official figure through three disclosed assumptions.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Original Visit Seattle projection | $929M | Visit Seattle (Dec 2024) |
| Revised forecast | $845.6M | Visit Seattle (trimmed ~9%) |
| Independent 5-method triangulation | $489M central estimate | Independent modeling |
| National post-event (NY/NJ) | $3.5B (+6% above forecast) | NJEDA |
| National WC hotel revenue forecast | ~$900M additional | Tourism Economics |
| Global WC gross output (pre-event) | ~$80B projected | FIFA |
| Global WC actual (BofA) | ~$40B | Bank of America |
| Visit Seattle projected jobs | 20,000+ | Visit Seattle |
| Visit Seattle projected visitors | 750,000 | Visit Seattle |
What we have: Pre-event forecast ($929M → $845.6M), independent triangulated estimate ($489M), national benchmark (NY/NJ $3.5B), FIFA global projection ($80B vs BofA actual $40B).
Briefing note: The $489M triangulation uses 5 methods (top-down, bottom-up, BofA implied, DSA implied, tax implied) with displacement adjustment. The gap between $845.6M forecast and $489M is 42%, consistent with the national pattern (FIFA projected $80B, BofA measured $40B — a 50% gap).
Status: FIFA has not published Seattle-specific ticket-origin or attendance-by-ZIP data. However, FIFA published overall tournament ticketing milestones, and Seattle's per-match attendance is fully documented.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Total Seattle attendance (6 matches) | 401,400 | StadiumDB |
| Sellouts | 5 of 6 (1 game 150 short) | StadiumDB |
| Lumen Field WC capacity | 66,925 | StadiumDB |
| FIFA total tournament spectators | 6.25M+ | FIFA |
| FIFA stadium occupancy | 99.7% | FIFA |
| FIFA hospitality packages sold | 600,000+ | FIFA |
| Hospitality guests (regular fans) | 60% | FIFA |
| Hospitality guests (B2B) | 40% | FIFA |
| USA vs AUS TV audience | 23.0M (16.2M FOX + 6.8M Telemundo/Peacock) | Nielsen via FOX / Telemundo |
| USA vs BEL TV audience | 42.9M (30.0M FOX + 12.9M Telemundo/Peacock) | Nielsen via FOX / NBCU |
| FIFA projected visitors to Seattle | 750,000 | Visit Seattle |
| Airbnb expected visitors | ~150,000 needing lodging | Airbnb |
Briefing note: Per-match attendance is fully verified. FIFA's 750,000 projected visitors and 99.7% stadium occupancy provide context. The USA vs Belgium Round of 16 match drew 42.9M combined TV viewers (30.0M FOX + 12.9M Telemundo/Peacock) — at the time, the most-watched soccer telecast in U.S. history.
Status: Datafy provides downtown ZIP-level spending, and Toast provides match-day restaurant/bar sales data. Card-spend-by-visitor-home-ZIP is not public, but multiple spending benchmarks exist.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Downtown spending Jan–Jun 2026 | $821.6M (+6.89% YoY) | Datafy/DSA |
| Match-day restaurant/bar sales | +51% | Toast |
| Match-day transactions | +56% | Toast |
| Beer sales on match days | +212% | Toast |
| Hot dog sales on match days | +228% | Toast |
| Average tip (match days) | 16.4% (down from 17.2%) | Toast |
| All host cities avg spending | +5% (vs +4% elsewhere) | Toast |
| Visa cross-border transactions | +~20% YoY in host cities | Visa |
| BofA client spending (host cities) | Aggregate YoY gains | Bank of America |
| Short-term rental revenue (all hosts) | $1.33B (+$276.7M YoY) | AirDNA |
| Airbnb nights booked (group stage) | 2.3M+ (+11% YoY) | AirDNA |
| Airbnb overall booking surge | +16% YoY | AirDNA |
| Additional STR revenue from pricing | +$231.8M | AirDNA |
Briefing note: Toast's match-day data (+51% sales, +212% beer, +228% hot dogs) is the strongest direct evidence of FIFA-driven restaurant spending. AirDNA's $1.33B host-city STR revenue provides lodging revenue context, though Seattle-specific STR revenue is not broken out separately.
Status: Placer.ai provides corridor-level foot traffic data, DSA provides visit counts, and Toast provides match-day sales data by neighborhood. Multiple corridors are documented.
| Corridor | Foot Traffic / Visits | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Pioneer Square (Jul 6, match day) | +144% YoY | Placer.ai |
| CID (Jul 6, match day) | +34% YoY | Placer.ai |
| SoDo (Jul 6, match day) | +61% YoY | Placer.ai |
| Westlake Park visits | 129,032 | DSA |
| Occidental Square visits | 436,239 | DSA |
| Combined Westlake + Occidental | 565,271 | DSA |
| CID foot traffic (tournament) | ~+10% | Toast |
| Pioneer Square | Best month in recent history | Toast/DSA |
| Strongest gains | Businesses on route to stadium | Toast |
Briefing note: Pioneer Square saw the largest gains (+144% on Jul 6), described as the route from light rail to stadium gates. CID saw +10% tournament-wide and +34% on match days. The corridor-level data clearly shows the geographic distribution of World Cup economic activity.
Status: STR/CoStar provides weekly national data, HVS provides the host-city hotel analysis, Kidder Mathews provides the Seattle Q2 2026 market report, and AirDNA provides short-term rental data for all host cities.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle TTM occupancy Q2 2026 | 68.6% (down from 69.7%) | Kidder Mathews |
| Seattle ADR Q2 2026 | $182 (up from $181) | Kidder Mathews |
| Seattle RevPAR Q2 2026 | $125 (down from $127) | Kidder Mathews |
| Seattle ADR peak (week Jun 20) | $271.80 (+30.5% YoY) | CoStar/STR |
| Match-week occupancy | 73.9% (-6.9pp vs 2025) | CoStar |
| Post-tournament occupancy | 90.5% (+3.3pp YoY) | CoStar |
| HVS counterfactual gap | -6.3pp occupancy · +$26.56 ADR · +15.7% RevPAR | HVS |
| STR revenue (all host cities) | $1.33B (+$276.7M YoY) | AirDNA |
| STR nights booked (group stage) | 2.3M+ (+11% YoY) | AirDNA |
| STR overall booking surge | +16% YoY | AirDNA |
| STR pricing premium revenue | +$231.8M | AirDNA |
| Kidder Mathews assessment | WC boost below expectations; did not improve YoY occupancy/RevPAR | Kidder Mathews |
Briefing note: Kidder Mathews confirms the WC demand boost was "below expectations and did not improve year-over-year occupancy or RevPAR." The ADR spike ($271.80, +30.5% YoY) was real but short-lived. International travel pulled back, particularly from Canada. STR revenue data from AirDNA provides the short-term rental context.
Status: King County RevTracker and Seattle Q2 Revenue Report provide actual tax receipt data. WA DOR and Seattle Finance have World Cup 2026 pages. This analysis has triangulated tax estimates from actual receipts.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Independent calculated direct tax estimate | $15.5M (4-method) | Independent triangulation |
| Independent tax estimate with multiplier | ~$22M | Independent triangulation |
| Pre-event projected tax revenue | $95.8M ( Visit Seattle) | Visit Seattle / OPB |
| Pre-event projected (Visit Seattle) | $100M+ direct state and local | Visit Seattle |
| Seattle sales tax rate | 10.25% (combined) | WA DOR |
| KC RevTracker Q2 2026 | Published with WC analysis | King County |
| Seattle Q2 2026 Revenue Report | Published with WC analysis | Seattle OERF |
| WA DOR World Cup page | Active resource page | WA DOR |
| Seattle Finance World Cup page | Active resource page | Seattle Finance |
Briefing note: The $15.5M calculated tax estimate (4-method triangulation from actual KC and Seattle receipts) is 84% below the $95.8M pre-event forecast. This is consistent with the overall 42% gap between forecast and actuals. The KC RevTracker and Seattle Q2 reports provide the underlying receipt data. WA DOR and Seattle Finance both maintain World Cup resource pages for businesses.
Status: Public investment data is well-documented from multiple sources. This analysis has calculated estimated revenue and net fiscal return using available data.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Total WA public investment | ~$120M | KUOW |
| Seattle city appropriations (2025–26) | ~$31.9M | Apostle Sports Media |
| 2025 city appropriation | $6.4M | Apostle Sports Media |
| 2026 city adopted budget | $7.4M | Apostle Sports Media |
| Combined 2025–26 base | $13.8M | Apostle Sports Media |
| Additional funding (CB 121201) | $18M+ accepted | Apostle Sports Media |
| SDOT share | ~$6M | Apostle Sports Media |
| Seattle Center share | $3.4M | Apostle Sports Media |
| State renovation spending | $19.4M | Seattle Times |
| Public safety grants | $33.1M | DOJ/OJP |
| Estimated Seattle total public cost | ~$32M | Independent compilation |
| Independent estimated direct tax revenue | $15.5M | Independent triangulation |
| Estimated net fiscal return | ~-$16.5M (Seattle only) | Independent calculation |
| Vancouver BC comparison | $1.066B cost for 13 games | CTV News / PBO |
Briefing note: Seattle's net fiscal return is estimated at approximately -$16.5M when comparing calculated direct tax revenue ($15.5M) against Seattle-specific public costs (~$32M). This is a conservative estimate — state-level investment ($120M) and federal grants ($33.1M) bring the total public investment higher. Vancouver BC's parliamentary budget officer estimated $1.066B for 13 games, providing cross-border context.
Status: While FIFA has not published a Seattle-specific procurement total, the SeattleFWC26 Local Organizing Committee launched a comprehensive Small Business Initiative, and the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce created a statewide Small Business Megaevent Playbook.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Small Business Initiative launch | 500 days before kickoff | SeattleFWC26 |
| Neighborhood liaisons | 3 (CID, SoDo, Pioneer Square) | SeattleFWC26 |
| Community engagement duration | 1+ years before tournament | SeattleFWC26 |
| Statewide Small Business Playbook | Available free online | Seattle Chamber |
| Fan zones across WA | 9 planned | SeattleFWC26 |
| Projected jobs supported | 20,000+ | Visit Seattle |
| WSDOT procurement (RFQQ 2026 0306) | Information Assistance Services | HigherGov/WSDOT |
| FIFA Local Impact Supplier Program | Active in all host cities | FIFA |
Briefing note: Three neighborhood liaisons were established in CID, SoDo, and Pioneer Square. The Seattle Chamber's Small Business Playbook was released for free online. WSDOT ran a procurement process (RFQQ 2026 0306) for information assistance services during the tournament. FIFA's Local Impact Supplier Program was active across all host cities. While a dollar total for local procurement is not published, the program infrastructure was comprehensive.
Status: WA Employment Security Department (ESD) has published sector employment data showing leisure/hospitality job gains during the WC period. Volunteer and workforce program data is also available.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Leisure/hospitality jobs added (May) | 4,900 | WA ESD |
| Leisure/hospitality jobs added (June) | 3,100 | WA ESD |
| Leisure/hospitality jobs added (July) | 2,700 | WA ESD |
| Total jobs added (May–Jul) | ~10,700 | WA ESD |
| Job growth concentration | Food services | WA ESD |
| Geographic concentration | King County / Seattle area | WA ESD |
| ESD assessment | "Likely boosted" but "durability unclear" | WA ESD |
| Volunteer applications | 35,000 | SeattleFWC26 |
| Volunteers selected | 2,000 | SeattleFWC26 |
| Volunteer training hours | 2,500+ | SeattleFWC26 |
| Projected jobs supported | 20,000+ | Visit Seattle |
| SeattleFWC26 tournament operations roles | Posted on Indeed | Indeed/FWC2026 |
| Stadium event jobs (Seahawks/First & Goal) | From $22.75/hr | Indeed |
Briefing note: ESD data shows 10,700 leisure/hospitality jobs added May–July, concentrated in food services and King County. ESD noted "durability unclear" — many may be temporary. The volunteer program (35,000 applications, 2,000 selected, 2,500+ training hours) was substantial. Visit Seattle projected 20,000+ total jobs supported.
Status: Sound Transit fare payment data is public via The Spokesman-Review. King County Metro budget includes a specific World Cup service line item. Sound Transit's 2026 budget and revenue projections are public.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Light rail riders Jun 19 (USA vs AUS) | 297,000 | Sound Transit / Spokesman |
| Jun 19 fare payment rate | 58–74% of riders | Sound Transit |
| Jun 19 recorded payments | 172,296 | Sound Transit |
| Jun 19 paper tickets | 46,083 | Sound Transit |
| 2025 fare payment rate | 61% | Sound Transit |
| Busiest WC light rail day | Jul 6 (USA vs BEL) | Sound Transit |
| Total WC light rail ridership | Up to 309,000 per day | Sound Transit |
| June Link boardings | 5.4M (all-time monthly record) | Sound Transit |
| Sound Transit 2026 projected revenue | $3.3B | DJC / Sound Transit |
| Passenger fare increase | +28.4% (light-rail expansion) | DJC / Sound Transit |
| Service hours increase | +29% from 2025 | DJC / Sound Transit |
| Proposed 2026 budget | $3.5B | DJC / Sound Transit |
| Property tax collections | $183M (5.59% of revenue) | DJC / Sound Transit |
| Sales tax + MVET share | 68.9% of revenue | DJC / Sound Transit |
| Fare gates (14 stations by 2030) | +$32M/year revenue | Sound Transit |
| Long-term funding gap | $35B | Sound Transit |
| Per-capita taxes (Sound Transit) | ~$700/year | Sound Transit |
| Metro DS_012 World Cup budget | WC service & passenger experience | King County Metro |
| Metro water taxi + flexible services | $45M (budgeted) | King County Council |
| Metro transit security | $46M (275 officers) | King County Council |
| Metro new service hours | 411,900 (2026–27 biennium) | King County Metro |
| Metro 2026 budget (expenditures) | $1,438,047,134 | King County Metro |
| Metro 2026 budget (revenues) | $1,290,253,560 | King County Metro |
| Combined transit (6 match days) | ~3.4M (Metro + Sound Transit) | Independent compilation |
| Lime scooter record day (Jun 19) | 83,000+ rides | GeekWire/Lime |
| Lime WC week total | 300,000+ rides | GeekWire/Lime |
| Lime fleet deployed | 15,000 bikes and scooters | GeekWire/Lime |
| SEA Airport Jul 2–6 | Increased passenger volume | SEA Airport |
Briefing note: Sound Transit's fare payment data is the most detailed transit revenue data available — 172,296 payments on June 19 alone, with 58–74% of 297,000 riders paying. At $3.00 average fare, June 19 fare revenue was approximately $516,888. The $3.3B projected annual revenue includes a 28.4% increase from light-rail expansion. King County Metro's DS_012 World Cup budget line and $45M water taxi/flexible services allocation show the public investment in WC transportation.
Status: 5 of 9 fan zones have public attendance totals. The remaining 4 have documented event details but no published attendance figures. FIFA's global Fan Festival data provides context.
| Community | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Bellingham | 6,600+ | City of Bellingham |
| Bremerton | ~9,000 (est.) | Kitsap Sun |
| Everett | 17,000 | HeraldNet |
| Olympia-Lacey | ~7,700 | The Jolt News |
| Yakima | 4,000+ | NBC Right Now |
| Puyallup Tribe | 6 events · first Indigenous WC sponsor · Coastal Protocol, Pow Wow, stick games — attendance not separately published | Puyallup Tribe |
| Spokane | 2 events (Jun 19, Jul 19) at Gesa Pavilion, Riverfront Park — $5/day — attendance not published | Visit Spokane |
| Tri-Cities | 4 events at Gesa Stadium, Pasco (Jun 15, Jul 1, Jul 6) — free — attendance not published | Tri-Cities Business News |
| Vancouver WA | 6 watch parties at Big Al's — attendance not published | SeattleFWC26 |
| Seattle Fan Celebrations (official) | 750,000+ fans (Jun 15–27) | SeattleFWC26 |
| Seattle Soccer Celebration | 450,000+ visitors · 40+ events | SeattleFWC26 |
| FIFA Fan Festival (Vancouver BC) | ~500,000 (Jun 11–Jul 14) | CTV News |
| FIFA total stadium attendance | 6.25M+ (99.7% occupancy) | FIFA |
| FIFA digital engagement | 20B video views | FIFA |
Briefing note: 5 of 9 WA fan zones have public attendance (totaling 44,300+). The remaining 4 (Puyallup Tribe, Spokane, Tri-Cities, Vancouver WA) have documented events but haven't published attendance totals. The Puyallup Tribe's participation is historically significant — first Indigenous nation to sponsor a World Cup. Seattle's official Fan Celebrations drew 750,000+ and the Soccer Celebration drew 450,000+, dwarfing the regional fan zones.
Status: Nielsen ratings (reported by FOX Sports and NBCUniversal/Telemundo) provide per-match TV audience data, AdImpact provides advertising analysis, FIFA provides global digital engagement metrics, SBJ/Navigate provides naming-rights media value, and SeattleFWC26 provides Seattle-specific rankings and media recognition.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| USA vs AUS TV audience (Seattle match) | 23.0M (16.2M FOX + 6.8M Telemundo/Peacock) | Nielsen via FOX / Telemundo |
| USA vs BEL TV audience (Seattle R16) | 42.9M (30.0M FOX + 12.9M Telemundo/Peacock) | Nielsen via FOX / NBCU |
| USA vs BIH TV audience | 35.5M (26.4M FOX + 9.1M Telemundo) | Nielsen via FOX / Telemundo |
| WC Final TV audience | 66.4M combined (42.5M FOX + 23.9M Telemundo/Peacock) | Nielsen final via Sports Media Watch |
| WC Final ranking | Most-watched soccer telecast in U.S. history | Nielsen / FOX / Telemundo |
| FOX leading markets | San Francisco, Dallas, DC, Seattle | AdImpact |
| FIFA global video views | 20 billion | FIFA |
| "Viking Row" TikTok | 172M views | FIFA |
| FIFA projected global audience | 5–6 billion | FIFA |
| Naming-rights media value (domestic) | $53.5M at risk | SBJ/Navigate |
| Naming-rights media value (global) | $134.8M at risk | SBJ/Navigate |
| Brands affected | 6+ (MetLife ~$20M, AT&T ~$18M) | SBJ/Navigate |
| The Athletic ranking | #1 stadium experience | The Athletic |
| Sports Illustrated ranking | #2 of 16 host cities | Sports Illustrated |
| Action Network Fan Experience | #1 U.S. host city, #3 overall | Action Network |
| L'Equipe reporters dispatched | 12 to North America | Seattle Times |
| Seattle group-stage fans | 267,550 (first 4 matches) | Seattle Times |
Briefing note: Seattle matches drew massive TV audiences — USA vs BEL (42.9M combined) was, at the time, the most-watched soccer telecast in U.S. history. Seattle ranked #1 stadium experience (The Athletic), #2 host city (SI), and #1 U.S. host city for fan experience (Action Network). The naming-rights media value study shows $134.8M in global exposure was forgone because FIFA doesn't allow stadium naming rights during WC matches. FOX identified Seattle as a leading market.
Status: ROS Research conducted a comprehensive fan satisfaction survey for the FIFA 2026 World Cup. Seattle Times reported visitor reviews of Lumen Field. SeattleFWC26 compiled media rankings. Multiple legacy programs are documented.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Overall fan satisfaction | ~90% high satisfaction | ROS Research |
| TV as primary platform | 90% of mentions | ROS Research |
| Streaming service usage | 40% of viewers | ROS Research |
| Mobile device viewing | 25% (1 in 4) | ROS Research |
| Intent to watch next WC | 9 in 10 (90%) | ROS Research |
| Likely to continue following soccer | 8 in 10 (80%) | ROS Research |
| Survey region: US | 31% | ROS Research |
| Survey region: Europe | 36% | ROS Research |
| Survey region: Latin America | 33% | ROS Research |
| Survey gender: Male | 59% (avg age 42) | ROS Research |
| Survey gender: Female | 41% (avg age 39) | ROS Research |
| Lumen Field visitor reviews | Positive — "a hit" | Seattle Times |
| The Athletic ranking | #1 stadium experience | The Athletic |
| Action Network Fan Index | #1 U.S. host city | Action Network |
| Seattle group-stage fans | 267,550 entertained | Seattle Times |
| State renovation spending | $19.4M | Seattle Times |
| Seattle Soccer Celebration | 450,000+ visitors, 40+ events | SeattleFWC26 |
| Official Fan Celebrations | 750,000+ fans (Jun 15–27) | SeattleFWC26 |
| Small Business Initiative | 3 neighborhood liaisons (CID, SoDo, Pioneer Square) | SeattleFWC26 |
| Puyallup Tribe legacy | First Indigenous WC sponsor; Coastal Protocol, Pow Wow | Puyallup Tribe |
Briefing note: The ROS Research survey provides the most comprehensive fan satisfaction data — 90% satisfaction, 80% likely to continue following soccer, 90% intent to watch next WC. Seattle's rankings (#1 stadium, #1 U.S. fan experience) and visitor reviews ("a hit") confirm strong on-the-ground experience. The Small Business Initiative and Puyallup Tribe partnership represent lasting legacy programs.
Status: This analysis has compiled a comprehensive confidence assessment using the Evidence Classification System (Class A through E) across all 6 pillars of the framework.
| Pillar | Confidence | Class | Key Data Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visitation | HIGH | A | StadiumDB (401,400), SeattleFWC26 (750K+), Placer.ai (>3M), SEA Airport |
| Visitor Spending | MEDIUM-HIGH | B | Toast (+51%), Datafy ($821.6M), BofA, Visa (+20%), AirDNA ($1.33B) |
| Lodging Demand | MEDIUM-HIGH | B | HVS, CoStar/STR, Kidder Mathews (68.6%), AirDNA (2.3M nights) |
| Transportation & Mobility | HIGH | A | Sound Transit (172K payments), Metro ($45M), Lime (83K rides), SEA Airport |
| Tax Generation | MEDIUM | B | KC RevTracker, Seattle Q2 Report, Independent triangulation ($15.5M) |
| Workforce & Jobs | MEDIUM-HIGH | B | WA ESD (10,700 jobs), SeattleFWC26 (2K volunteers), Indeed |
| Evidence Class | Definition | Count |
|---|---|---|
| Class A — Official Measured | Directly measured by owning agency | 45+ metrics |
| Class B — Provider Sample | Sample-based from data providers | 120+ metrics |
| Class C — Appropriation | Budget/appropriation data | 30+ metrics |
| Class D — Forecast/Model | Pre-event projections or modeled estimates | 40+ metrics |
| Class E — Not Public | Not publicly available | 0 (all fields filled with proxy data) |
Briefing note: All 350+ metrics now have at least Class D evidence or better. The strongest pillars are Visitation (Class A) and Transportation (Class A), with direct agency measurements. Spending and Lodging are Class B (provider samples). Tax is Class B (triangulated from actual receipts). Workforce is Class B (ESD sector data). No blank fields remain — every field contains researched, sourced data. Where official post-event reconciliation is not yet published, best available proxy data is provided.
CAN ANSWER (All Researched)
- Total attendance: 401,400 (5 of 6 sellouts)
- Downtown visits: >3M (+17% YoY)
- Match-day restaurant sales: +51% (Toast)
- Beer/hot dog sales: +212% / +228%
- Link boardings: 5.4M (June record)
- Sound Transit fare payments: 172,296 (Jun 19)
- Hotel ADR peak: $271.80 (+30.5% YoY)
- Hotel occupancy Q2: 68.6% (Kidder Mathews)
- Leisure/hospitality jobs: 10,700 (May–Jul)
- Volunteer program: 35K applied, 2K selected
- Fan satisfaction: ~90% (ROS Research)
- Seattle rankings: #1 stadium, #2 host city
- TV audience: USA vs BEL 42.9M viewers
- Short-term rentals: $1.33B host cities (AirDNA)
- Lime scooters: 83K record day, 300K week
- Public investment: ~$120M WA, ~$32M Seattle
- Calculated tax estimate: $15.5M (4-method)
- Independent impact estimate: $489M (5-method)
- Corridor foot traffic: CID +10%, Pioneer Sq +144%
- Fan zone attendance: 5 of 9 public (44K+)
- Seattle Fan Celebrations: 750K+ fans
- FIFA digital engagement: 20B video views
- Naming-rights media value: $134.8M global
- Small Business Initiative: 3 liaisons, playbook
- Puyallup Tribe: First Indigenous WC sponsor
PROXY DATA (Best Available)
- Official result: $889M (Visit Seattle / Tourism Economics, Sep 22, 2026) — headline published, workpapers not public; independent triangulation ($489M) is the fully documented floor
- FIFA ticket-origin by ZIP: Not published; per-match attendance and TV audience provide visitor-volume proxy
- Seattle-specific STR revenue: AirDNA reports $1.33B for all host cities combined; Seattle share not separately broken out
- 4 fan zone attendance totals (Puyallup, Spokane, Tri-Cities, Vancouver WA): Events documented but attendance not published; 5 of 9 have public totals
- Local procurement dollar total: Program infrastructure documented (Small Business Initiative, 3 liaisons, playbook, WSDOT RFQQ); dollar total not published
- Per-match transit fare revenue: Sound Transit published Jun 19 data (172K payments); full match-day breakdown not run for every match
- Seattle-specific media value: Nielsen provides per-match TV audience; Seattle-specific brand value not separately quantified
- ESD payroll data: Sector employment (10,700 jobs) published; WC-specific payroll dollars not separately reported
| Category | Primary Sources | Evidence Class |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Economic Impact | Visit Seattle, Tourism Economics, Yahoo Finance, independent triangulation, BofA, FIFA | D (forecast) / B (triangulation) |
| 2. Ticketing | StadiumDB, FIFA, Nielsen (FOX/Telemundo), Airbnb | A (attendance) / B (audience) |
| 3. Visitor Spend | Toast, Datafy/DSA, BofA, Visa, AirDNA | B |
| 4. Corridors | Placer.ai, DSA, Toast | B |
| 5. Lodging | Kidder Mathews, HVS, CoStar/STR, AirDNA | B |
| 6. Tax Receipts | KC RevTracker, Seattle Q2 Revenue, WA DOR, independent triangulation | B |
| 7. Net Fiscal Return | Apostle Sports Media, OPB/KUOW, Seattle Times, independent calculation | B/C |
| 8. Procurement | SeattleFWC26, Seattle Chamber, WSDOT, FIFA | C |
| 9. Workforce | WA ESD, SeattleFWC26, Indeed | B |
| 10. Transportation | Sound Transit, Spokesman-Review, DJC, KC Metro, GeekWire, SEA Airport | A/B |
| 11. Fan Zones | SeattleFWC26, HeraldNet, Kitsap Sun, Jolt News, NBC Right Now, Puyallup Tribe, Visit Spokane | A/B |
| 12. Media Value | Nielsen (FOX/Telemundo), AdImpact, FIFA, SBJ/Navigate, SeattleFWC26 | A/B |
| 13. Satisfaction | ROS Research, Seattle Times, The Athletic, SI, Action Network | B |
| 14. Confidence | Independent compilation across all sources | A–D (mixed) |
| Data Owner | Dataset | Why It Matters | Coverage |
|---|
| Pillar | Metric | Value | Class | Owner | Caveat |
|---|
1. Geography: Report Seattle, King County and Washington statewide separately
2. Event window: Match days + justified shoulder days; keep broader summer context separate
3. Incremental visitors: Combine ticket origin, Placer/Datafy, airport and lodging; deduplicate repeat visits
4. Direct visitor spend: Use visitor-origin card spend + lodging + transportation + event spend; subtract local substitution
5. Labor/indirect effects: Use transparent multipliers only after direct spend and labor income are reconciled
6. Fiscal return: Use actual DOR/City receipts, not forecasted tax rates alone
7. Displacement: Account for hotel/convention displacement, local avoidance, CID/Pioneer Square differences
8. Public cost: Actual expenditure less reimbursements/grants; disclose capital separately by useful life/legacy
9. Distribution: Report neighborhood, sector, business type, worker and statewide fan-zone outcomes
10. Confidence: Attach evidence class, data owner, extraction date and methodology to every headline metric
| Source | Contribution |
|---|
Seattle & King County Economic Impact · In partnership with The Data Guys™
Evidence classes: A (official measured) · B (provider sample) · C (appropriation) · D (forecast/model) · E (not public)