City staff briefed the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee on July 10 about a preliminary plan for regional World Cup "fan zone" events and what it would take for lodging-tax dollars to support the proposal.

An assistant city manager described the organizer's preliminary proposal: a minimum of six fan-zone events between mid-June and early July tied to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, a Port of Olympia peninsula location, and a total estimated cost of $1.5 million. The event proposal requested $375,000 from each of four jurisdictions — Lacey, Olympia, Tumwater and Thurston County — and included a projected 2,500 tickets or tickets-sold figure in its materials, staff said.

"What are fan zones?" the assistant city manager asked rhetorically and answered in the meeting: "A fan zone is an official event that is held during the scheduled matches, and the idea is that, people are allowed to gather in 1 location and that there's large TVs where people can watch live broadcasts of multiple matches ... and [it] also have potential to be ... vendors, there's live music, there's cultural and community programming." The Thurston Chamber produced the preliminary proposal and has been meeting with jurisdictions to refine logistics, staff said.

Staff emphasized a statutory process for lodging-tax support: any organization seeking lodging-tax funding must submit a formal application that includes estimates of how the activity will increase overnight stays by travelers coming 50 miles or more or from other states or countries. The committee was told applications for lodging-tax awards are open now and close Aug. 22; the committee will review submissions in September. Staff said that until a completed application is received, the committee is limited to discussing the concept and cannot recommend awards.

Committee members asked whether the proposal included an admission charge and whether the Port of Olympia was the intended site; staff said some details remain preliminary and that the Thurston Chamber and organizers continue to refine the plan. The committee asked staff to monitor developments and indicated a willingness to review any lodging-tax application that complies with state requirements.

Staff will circulate the full preliminary event proposal and the City Council briefing materials, and will return to LTAC in September if applications are submitted for lodging-tax consideration.