As Seattle gears up to host the world’s most popular sporting event — the FIFA World Cup — in June, the city has enacted a plethora of changes. From construction to new and improved means of transportation across King County, Seattle’s infrastructure is undergoing heavy renovation and reorganization ahead of the first of six matches that will take place in downtown Seattle.

The World Cup operates on a four-year calendar, similar to the Olympic Games. Nations fight to host it, both for the attention and for the economic benefits that come with it. In 2018, Mexico, Canada and the U.S. bid to host the 2026 World Cup. Mexico and Canada are set to host 10 games each, and the U.S. will host the other 60. Seattle’s Lumen Field, which will be renamed Seattle Stadium for the duration of the World Cup, will host six games. 

Since the 2000s, countries have spent about $10-20 billion on improving cities where the World Cup games would be hosted. While its total expenditures from the U.S. aren’t publicly available yet, Seattle City Council Bill 121201 allocated over $32 million towards preparation and infrastructure for the tournament in the city.

Washington State Department of Transportation’s most expansive and anticipated measure prior to the FIFA World Cup was the completion of a second light rail system. Although the 2 Line wasn’t completed specifically for the World Cup, Sound Transit said that the construction was strategically accelerated in preparation for the massive tournament, according to a March report. Construction began in 2017, before the World Cup host cities had been announced, and after the dates and cities for the games were made available, WSDOT had a date to complete the construction by.  WSDOT opened the 2 Line in March to complement the 1 Line, which connects Lynnwood to Federal Way. The 2 Line travels from Lynnwood to downtown Redmond, significantly increasing public transit efficiency and accessibility. Still, WSDOT Mobility and Technology Manager Annie Johnson (she/her) said that the department has plans to further increase capacity and operating frequency this summer.

“We’re working a lot with our regional transit partners to prep for this summer. We’ve been planning World Cup for two years at this point,” Johnson said. “We’ve worked a lot with our partners at Sound Transit and even further up with Community Transit out in Snohomish County to coordinate movement patterns for World Cup.”

Seattle and its surrounding metro area is expecting an extremely large number of tourists and visitors this summer. With so many extra people coming to the city, Johnson said that WSDOT has planned to increase the frequency of bus and light rail arrivals for the duration of the World Cup, with extra trains and buses operating to accommodate the massive amount of tourists.

“We project about 700,000 tourists to come to Seattle this summer,” Johnson said. “Of that 700,000, a majority are going to be from 50 miles away from Seattle or farther. So fans from all over the world are coming to Seattle, and they’re going to be watching the World Cup games.”

The Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) has undergone multiple renovation projects over the past decade — most of which have been expedited to be completed in time for the 2026 World Cup. Sea-Tac Media Relations Manager Perry Cooper (he/him) detailed the projects and progress status in an email.

“Once the World Cup dates were announced, SEA aimed (for) three particular projects, already in progress with Upgrade SEA capital improvements, to amend their dates to be completed in time for the games,” Cooper wrote in an email. “Those are the SEA Gateway Project, Roadway Improvements and C Concourse Expansion.”

The SEA Gateway Project, which was completed in January, upgraded the ticketing stations, baggage claim and security checkpoints. The Roadway Improvements aim to upgrade the pickup and dropoff experience and dedicate lanes for shuttlepark vehicles, which have been opening slowly in phases over time. The C Concourse Expansion is the biggest improvement being made and it will open in early June.

“It will be quite the experience, as we’re adding four new floors to that space including 11 new dining and retail spaces, a major grandstand sitting area with Pacific Northwest wood decor including a dramatic Tree at C, and our first ever airfield overlook called the Lookout at C,” Cooper wrote in an email.

On top of the airport improvements centered around the influx of tourists, King County Metro has opened a free waterfront shuttle throughout the downtown area, improving transportation for tourists and residents. Accompanying the shuttle services is the transformation of iconic tourist destinations Pioneer Square and Pike Place Market into pedestrian zones that heavily encourage foot traffic and severely limit motor traffic. The zones will only be open on match days and are predicted by WSDOT to not impede traffic severely.

“WSDOT has put in so much effort planning this over the past many years,” Johnson said. “This is a momentous event for the city of Seattle and for WSDOT. We are being challenged like never before, but I think with all the work we’ve done we are going to see a very successful managing of this huge event.”