🥅 Soccer fans take over Seattle

Seattle Is Actually Enjoying the World Cup

Just last week, it felt like Seattle wasn’t exactly experiencing World Cup fever, but Monday’s game proved otherwise. Seattle is burning up for soccer, and fans are enjoying the vibe. “The whole city’s like a super different city. Super vibrant,” says Diana, as quoted in KIRO7 yesterday.

• 66,000 fans: The town turned up Monday for Belgium and Egypt’s 1-1 tie, with 66,775 fans at the game and only 200 empty seats. That's a whole lot of people showing up for the game. I spent the afternoon watching at Queen Anne Beerhall, and people were out having a good time. [KIRO7]
• Party central: Pioneer Square was packed to the gills, with vendors showing up as early as 4 a.m. to start cooking by 7. Fans were in from all over the country to cheer on their teams. Giant screens were playing the game in a pedestrian-only zone. Honestly, it sounds like a great time. To quote City Cast Seattle contributor Ryan Packer, ‘I love this damn town.’ [KUOW]
• Drones tell you the score: In a very Seattle move, 400 drones lit up the sky Monday night at 10:05 pm to announce the 1-1 tie between Egypt and Belgium. Visit Seattle put it together, and see it as a way to celebrate Seattle’s first-ever World Cup. Here’s the schedule for future World Cup drone shows. [GeekWire]
• For more details on all the World Cup energy that’s transforming downtown Seattle, listen to today’s episode of the podcast.

🏫 Washington falls in education ranking again: WA state has dropped to 31st in a national education ranking based on a report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, a drop from 27 last year. The state’s Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction pushed back on this report, saying that a better measure would look at recovery since the low point of the pandemic. [Washington State Standard]

💰 Actually, YOU owe us money, KCHRA associate director says: In a City Council meeting last week, King County Homeless Authority’s William Towey said that they had failed to bill either the city or King County for expenses between 2021 and mid-2025, which were the years covered by the recent audit that showed that the KCHRA couldn’t account for $13 million. ‘Not great,’ responded committee vice-chair Claudia Balducci. [PubliCola]

🏙️ Has JumpStart been bad for downtown? The Downtown Seattle Association has released a new report that points to JumpStart, the payroll tax passed in 2020, as the cause for a downturn that has resulted in 30,000 lost jobs and massive drop in tax valuation of about 48%. Mayor Wilson pushed back on the report, saying that Seattle has remained competitive and resilient despite the downturns. [GeekWire]

📰 Another newsletter drops tomorrow: Proud to announce we’re launching a brand new newsletter! Keep It Local spotlights local businesses we love and provides personal, curated, and neighborly recommendations that will help you live your best Seattle life. It’s written by Harry Cheadle, long-time journalist and Seattleite. [City Cast Seattle]