SEATTLE — World Cup matches in Seattle have drawn unprecedented crowds to Pioneer Square, boosting local businesses and surpassing visitor numbers seen during Seattle Seahawks playoff games.
The day of the USA/Australia match brought more than 149,000 visitors to the neighborhood, according to numbers provided by the Alliance for Pioneer Square and reported by the Downtown Seattle Association.
Businesses in the historic neighborhood have experienced a significant surge in sales due to the influx of fans.
Parlour Pioneer Square, a business that opened last year, reported its busiest day yet during the USA/Australia match, with sales quadrupling its previous record.
“Tons of people in and out, lines out the door all day,” said owner Brendan Casey.
These visitor counts for the international soccer matches have surpassed the numbers recorded in Pioneer Square during Seattle Seahawks playoff games. The Alliance for Pioneer Square reported those days brought around 68,000 visitors.
Casey believes the positive impact extends beyond the matches themselves.
“I think that there’s been a sort of great energy in the neighborhood for the months previously,” Casey stated, adding that “even pre-FIFA, the regular days have been multiplying.”
The matches have attracted fans from across the globe, including Adam El Manawy, who traveled from Belgium.
El Manawy shipped his car, nicknamed “The Beast,” overseas for an American road trip to attend the games.
“I have tickets to see all the Belgium games,” he said, emphasizing a key part of his experience: “Just meeting people. For me, that’s the World Cup.”
Some neighborhoods, however, like the Chinatown-International District (CID) did not report the same business boom during Seattle matches.