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ELAC maps World Cup activations, seeks hotel input and a community events calendar
Summary
Committee reviewed World Cup activation plans (blogs, watch parties, fan zones), discussed licensing for public screenings, previewed a Port grant‑funded 'Welcome to Our District' activation, and asked staff to aggregate third‑party events and survey hotels to guide marketing and grant priorities.
The ELAC committee used its April 14 meeting to firm up World Cup communications, event support and local promotion plans and to ask industry partners for input.
Staff described how existing marketing contracts will be 'wrapped' to tell the World Cup story—publishing blogs about travel and local itineraries, surfacing third‑party watch parties on the 'Begin at Both' site, and highlighting featured events in email and social campaigns. The city has arranged four campus watch parties with local universities and noted that some large fan zones are licensed, which affects where and how public screenings can be promoted.
Staff also previewed a Port of Seattle‑funded activation called 'Welcome to Our District' that will use sidewalk stickers and a QR bot to guide visitors through downtown experiences from May through August. The committee learned that the city’s visitor center contract (with the Kenmore Chamber) and other marketing contracts cover many of the tactical promotion efforts; some supplemental contract spending was anticipated due to a recently applied tax and map refresh needs.
Members asked staff to create a community event calendar that aggregates third‑party permits and to broaden outreach so smaller local events are discoverable during the World Cup window. To collect operational input, the committee approved circulating a short survey to hotels and grant recipients asking them to rank priorities for lodging‑tax investment (heads‑and‑beds, events, marketing), report marketing performance concerns, and suggest strategies to strengthen the destination. Staff will finalize the survey and distribute it to hotels and recipients.
Committee members also discussed permitting and public‑safety responsibilities: parks and permitting staff are the regulatory authority for third‑party events and ensure safety, sanitation and coordination. The group agreed to form a small subcommittee (three members) to work with staff on grant guidelines and to identify a hotel representative to join that subcommittee.
Staff will share Street Sense conversion‑study results when ready and will supply a consolidated folder of third‑party World Cup events for committee review ahead of May’s agenda.
