Seattle Metro Chamber outlines World Cup 2026 business‑readiness plan in Des Moines study session webinar

Des Moines — During the Jan. 30, 2025 Des Moines City Council study session the Seattle Metro Chamber and representatives from the FIFA World Cup Seattle 2026 local organizing committee (LOC) briefed attendees on business-readiness and legacy plans connected to World Cup events that will bring matches to the Seattle region.

Speakers from the Seattle Metro Chamber and the LOC said the 2026 World Cup is expected to draw an estimated 750,000 additional visitors to the Seattle region during a roughly three‑week span of matches, enlarge viewership into the billions worldwide and produce significant local economic activity: Visit Seattle’s preliminary analysis cited nearly $1 billion in direct economic benefit for King County, supporting thousands of jobs and producing state and local tax revenue. The presenters emphasized the event’s scale and urged municipalities and businesses to prepare now to capture the economic opportunity.

Presenters described three categories of business opportunity: official FIFA and LOC contracting opportunities (stadium- and tournament-related), LOC and Chamber partner events (fan zones and fan celebrations), and “local maximization” — helping small businesses benefit from increased visitation through marketing, operational readiness and technical assistance. The chamber said it will build a small-business “readiness playbook,” expand its community-business-connector model to reach businesses across King County and beyond, and offer technical assistance and grant funding to prioritized small businesses. King County has budgeted $500,000 to start local work; the chamber and partners are seeking $6,000,000 in state operating funds to scale small-business readiness statewide, plus a $39,000,000 capital request and a $9,000,000 public-safety operating request for broader regional readiness.

Officials provided additional operational details: Seattle will host six matches; organizers expect peak visitation days around those matches and emphasized that many fans travel for nearly a week. The LOC and chamber also described nine planned fan zones across the state, a major fan celebration at Seattle Center, a volunteer recruitment timeline (volunteer launch in September) and digital tools (an LOC/FIFA app and a planned chamber app to promote local businesses). They said FIFA posts contracting and RFP opportunities on the central Seattle FIFA site and urged vendors to register their interest there.

During Q&A, presenters addressed concerns raised by council members and attendees: cross‑border travel and customs between Seattle and Vancouver will be a planning priority because Vancouver hosts nearby matches; organizers said FIFA’s ticketing app will serve as a “know‑before‑you‑go” channel and that LOC staff are coordinating with Customs and Border agencies. Presenters acknowledged transportation and lodging pressures and said modeling and coordination with airports and regional partners are underway. Presenters also discussed permit issues for temporary outdoor activations (restaurants, pop‑ups and watch parties) and suggested municipalities and local business organizations coordinate permit streams and public-safety planning.

Council members and staff raised local concerns about public safety, permit processes and the capacity of local emergency services; presenters said LOC, FIFA and local partners are discussing public-safety funding and coordination and that specific federal and state funding streams are under consideration but not finalized. Chamber staff asked cities to support a statewide funding request during the 2025 state legislative session and said they would circulate an advocacy one‑pager and a sign‑on letter for local governments and business groups.

The briefing was informational; the council did not take formal action on the World Cup proposals at the Jan. 30 study session. Council members suggested that local business groups and the city’s office of economic development coordinate outreach and consider temporary permitting or other measures to help local businesses participate in fan events.

What’s next: the chamber and LOC said they will publish a small-business playbook in spring 2025, release fan-zone locations in January (per presenters), continue outreach to chambers and ADOs statewide, and seek state funding during the 2025 legislative session.