World Cup scouting report: From coal miners to pros, Seattle’s soccer roots run deep

CoStar News examined each FIFA World Cup host city and what the tournament June 11-July 19 could mean for local infrastructure, real estate, tourism and economic development long before the first soccer match is played. Find links to all the markets here.

World Cup soccer action is coming to cities across North America — including Seattle, a hub of technology and tourist-driven demand that ranks among the world’s top magnets for global real estate investment.

The World Cup is expected to deliver a strong goal kick to the Puget Sound region's economy. Destination marketing group Visit Seattle projects that the city's six FIFA matches at Lumen Field this summer will generate $845.6 million for King County — including nearly $100 million in state and local tax revenue.

Soccer was played in the region by coal miners as early as the 1880s. The professional era of the sport started with the launch of the Seattle Sounders of the North American Soccer League, the top-level major professional league in the United States and Canada from 1968 to 1984.

The Seattle Storm played briefly before the Sounders name was revived in 1994 for a league that served as a precursor to Major League Soccer. Seattle Sounders FC joined Major League Soccer in 2009, instantly becoming one of the league's top-drawing teams and winning multiple MLS Cups. Seattle is also home to the National Women's Soccer League’s Reign FC.

Here is CoStar News’ scouting report:

Seattle is the most populous city in Washington and the Pacific Northwest region with 816,000 people, while metropolitan Seattle has a population of 4.15 million, according to the U.S. Census.

Inhabited by indigenous Americans such as the Duwamish before the arrival of the first permanent European settlers, the 142-square-mile city grew on an isthmus between the Puget Sound inlet of the Pacific Ocean and Lake Washington.

Seattle was founded in 1851.

Another international event, the 1962 World's Fair, played a major role in shaping Downtown's modern skyline.

The Space Needle, built for the fair as part of Seattle Center in Lower Queen Anne, opened that year as the tallest building west of the Mississippi River at 605 feet.

Seattle's skyscraper era had started with investments spurred by the late-19th century Klondike Gold Rush and the Alaska–Yukon–Pacific Exposition. The 38-story Smith Tower was built in 1914 and was the tallest building on the West Coast for nearly a half-century until the Space Needle opened.

The 55-story 1201 Third Avenue and the Union Square office tower complex opened in the 1980s at the height of the city's downtown building boom, followed by the IDX Tower and WaMu Center in the 2000s.

Amazon's headquarters move to the Denny Triangle neighborhood in 2012 led to a burst of residential tower construction — and an expansion of the skyline north to South Lake Union, and west toward Belltown. Rainier Square Tower, Seattle's second-tallest building, opened in 2021.

The Puget Sound region is home to tech giants Amazon and Microsoft, two of the world's most valuable companies. Other key companies with headquarters in Seattle include Starbucks, Nordstrom, Expedia Group and Alaska Airlines; Issaquah-based Costco Wholesale, Boeing, based in Renton and Bellevue-based T-Mobile and PACCAR, maker of Kenworth trucks.

Seattle's office vacancy has climbed in recent years as hybrid work has reshaped office demand — particularly Downtown, an area with among the highest availability rates among West Coast central business districts at nearly 36%.

Downtown Seattle has the Puget Sound region's largest concentration of hotels, with 18,000 rooms. Corporate, group, leisure and institutional travel drive steady lodging demand, supported by tech giants Amazon, Apple, Google and Meta.

The Seattle Convention Center is a major draw for groups, and the Alaska cruise season that runs from May through September attracts more than 1.3 million passengers annually and is a major source of hotel stays. Year-round hotel demand is anchored by attractions such as Pike Place Market, the Space Needle and the revitalized waterfront, as well as sports attractions like Lumen Field, T-Mobile Park and Climate Pledge Arena.

Seattle's industrial market has posted the weakest demand of any major U.S. market over the past year. A pullback in port-related activity has caused much of the pain, with double-digit, year-over-year declines in import container volumes since the Trump administration announced its tariff regime last year, according to the Northwest Seaport Alliance.

Six matches are scheduled at Lumen Field — renowned as one of the world’s loudest stadiums, with views of Seattle’s iconic skyline — capable of producing measurable seismic activity that's amplified by its unique horseshoe shape.

One of the marquee matchups will undoubtedly be a group match game between the United States national team and Australia. Another match, between Iran and Egypt, was scheduled for June 26 before the U.S. imposed a travel ban on Iran before the war. As of mid-May, leaders of the Iranian soccer federation were still in active discussions regarding the nation's participation with FIFA officials. The team plans to train in Mexico.

Lumen Field, known as the home of the NFL's Super Bowl LX champion Seattle Seahawks, is being rebranded as Seattle Stadium during the Cup to comply with FIFA’s strict rules against corporate-sponsored venue names.

The 72,000-seat stadium build in 2002 is also home to Major League Soccer’s Sounders FC, and the National Women's Soccer League’s Reign.