This page was last updated Weds, March 18, 2026. We will update this page as we receive additional information and resources.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup tournament—occurring Thursday, June 11 through Sunday, July 19—is the largest event ever to occur in Seattle. Hundreds of thousands of people will visit Seattle from all over the world and are expected to stay an average of 7.5 days each. Our entire city will see the impact on our roads and in our neighborhoods, but the most impacted neighborhoods are the ones immediately surrounding Lumen Field, i.e. the “stadium neighborhood”: Pioneer Square, the Chinatown/International District, and SoDo.
Many people access services, healthcare, housing, and shelter in these neighborhoods. Your Coalition has been working with the local organizing committee—SeattleFWC26—to get good information to housing, service, shelter, and healthcare providers in the most impacted neighborhoods. If your organization is not currently involved in these information sessions and your services are in Pioneer Square, the CID, or SoDo, please contact Kevin Lee at kevin[at]homelessinfo[.]org.
The information in this post is useful for us all to be aware of and is specifically important for frontline staff and the people who sleep or access services in Pioneer Square, the CID, and SoDo.
Match Days
There are a total of six match days:
- Monday, June 15 (Belgium vs. Egypt)
- Friday, June 19 (USA vs. Australia)
- Wednesday, June 24 (TBD vs. Qatar)
- Friday, June 26 (Egypt vs. TBD)*
- Wednesday, July 1 (TBD vs. TBD)
- Monday, July 6 (TBD vs. TBD)
*Note: Since this game was announced, Iran has pulled out of the competition. We do not yet know if this match will still take place with a different team or who that team will be.
Each match has the capacity for roughly 63,000 attendees at Lumen Field.
The match on Juneteenth between U.S. and Australia will likely see the biggest crowd, but the Local Organizing Committee expects every match to sell out. Some matches are not yet set—who will play will depend on the tournament outcomes, but we can expect large fan contingencies for at least the following teams: United States, Mexico, South Korea, Australia, and Italy. Please note the matches happening the same days as Trans PRIDE and PRIDE events.
Timing of matches is important. We can expect street closures and large crowds three hours prior to kickoff and two hours after game completion (the stadiums will stay open with food and beverage for two hours after each match concludes). For a noon game, that looks like street closures starting at 8-9 a.m. and staying in effect until sometime after 4 p.m. When road closures occur, traffic will move from those closed roads to other roads, increasing traffic.
We can expect foreign and national dignitaries to attend matches, which will increase security protocols and cause further traffic delays outside of the stadium neighborhood (e.g. highway closures, airport closures).
Planning for traffic disruptions
Plan ahead for deliveries: Avoid receiving large deliveries on match days if possible, or at the very least, avoid deliveries on match days with the largest anticipated attendance (match on Juneeteenth).
Parking and Transportation
The entire north Lumen Field parking lot will be closed the entire month of June and the first half of July. This will impact street parking in the surrounding neighborhoods.
There will be restrictions on rideshare (Uber, Lyft) pickups and drop offs that spread north, south, east, and west of Lumen Field.
Additional Traffic Impacts
The competing soccer teams will arrive in Seattle about a month prior to the tournament. Teams will have a base camp in Renton and, depending on the team, we can expect thousands of fans and journalists to follow them.
The athletic fields at Seattle U and the University of Washington will be used for practice games before matches. We can expect heavy fan traffic in both of these areas.
“Watch parties,” or opportunities for fans to gather and watch the matches together, will be hosted in neighborhoods across the city. There are official watch parties planned at the following locations: Seattle Center, Pacific Place, Waterfront Park, and SODO (Victory Hall). We can expect further traffic delays in accordance with these parties. We can also expect private restaurants and bars to broadcast the matches throughout the city.
Additional Resources
Please find the following “playbooks” provided by the Seattle Metro Chamber of Commerce:
You can also find webinars hosted by the Seattle Metro Chamber of Commerce here.
Preparing your agency or organization for the 2026 World Cup
If your agency or organization provides housing, shelter, services, or healthcare in the impacted neighborhood and you are NOT currently a part of the group the Coalition is convening to prepare for the 2026 World Cup, please email Kevin Lee at kevin[at]homelessinfo[.]org.