Snohomish County Sports Commission outlines sports tourism growth, FIFA 2026 opportunities for Arlington

Tammy Dunn, executive director of the Snohomish County Sports Commission, told the Arlington City Council that sports events are driving growing visitor spending in Snohomish County and urged cities to prepare locally for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and other tournaments.

The commission, Dunn said, is a standalone 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is to bring sporting events to the county to increase hotel stays and local spending. She described national and county-level economic metrics and highlighted recent and upcoming events that bring visitors to Arlington.

Dunn cited a 2023 Sports Events and Tourism Association figure that sports-related travel spending nationwide reached about $52.2 billion, with a total economic impact around $128 billion and roughly 760,000 jobs supported. The commission reports county-level economic impact rising from about $28 million in 2019 to roughly $32 million most recently and roughly 39,000–39,000 room nights in a recent year, using a tourism-economics calculator.

Locally, Dunn said Arlington recorded a notable increase in sports-related activity in 2024, describing roughly $700,000 in estimated economic impact for the city and “just over 5,000” visitor stays associated with local events. She listed recurring events and organizers that use Arlington fields and facilities, including Perfect Game Northwest baseball tournaments, gymnastics invitationals, 3-on-3 basketball, DY Sports basketball tournaments, and the Boys & Girls Club’s Battle of the Flags flag-football tournament planned for mid-July. She said those events have created demand for more gym and field space and encouraged council and staff to coordinate on facility development and volunteer recruitment.

Dunn discussed the 2026 FIFA World Cup and regional organizing. She said Visit Seattle’s economic study estimated King County revenue near $929 million for the event’s Seattle matches and described plans to distribute official fan zones and fan-activation programming across the state. She noted Seattle’s local organizing committee and partners were preparing a “watch party playbook” (due April 28, per Dunn) to help cities that are not official fan-zone hosts run local viewing events and related promotions, and she encouraged Arlington to plan watch parties, themed business promotions, and volunteer signups through the commission.

Councilmembers asked about volunteer channels, how the commission supports local facility development, and whether the county or state would help market Arlington for World Cup–related visitors. Dunn said the commission’s events coordinator, Nathan Cafaro, fields volunteer requests and that the commission works with partners to identify funding and private investors for facility projects. She also described coordination with Snohomish County tourism and with the Seattle-area organizing partners for fan-zone activation and publicity.

Dunn closed by mentioning the Snohomish County Sports Commission’s annual Hall of Fame induction banquet scheduled for Sept. 24 at the Edward D. Hansen Conference Center and offered to follow up with council staff on watch-party guidance and volunteer opportunities.

The council did not take formal action on the presentation; members thanked Dunn and asked staff to share commission materials in Arlington communications and to follow up on facility and volunteer coordination.

Ending: Councilmembers expressed support for helping local organizers and for sharing the commission’s guidance in the city newsletter; staff and the commission agreed to follow up on volunteer lists, watch-party guidance, and facility-development contacts.