More than 3 million visits were recorded in downtown Seattle during the six FIFA World Cup match days the city hosted this summer, according to new data shared by the Downtown Seattle Association.
The figures, published in the organization’s latest Downtown Dashboard, show 3,019,384 visits across downtown during the six match days, representing a 17% increase compared with the same dates in 2025. That averages more than 500,000 visits per match day, highlighting the tournament’s impact on Seattle’s downtown core.
The busiest day came on June 19, when the United States faced Australia, generating more than 580,000 downtown visits.
Another major spike occurred on July 6, when the United States played Belgium. Downtown recorded more than 543,000 visits, while Pioneer Square alone saw 163,653 visits, making it one of the neighborhood’s busiest days of the year.
The Downtown Seattle Association noted that the reported figures should be considered the minimum level of activity during the tournament. The data comes from location analytics company Placer.ai, which tracks domestic visitor activity but does not include international visitors. As a result, the actual number of downtown visits during the World Cup was likely higher than reported.
Seattle hosted six FIFA World Cup matches at Lumen Field, drawing fans from across the United States and around the world. The influx of visitors boosted activity throughout downtown, with restaurants, hotels, bars, retail shops, attractions and public spaces seeing increased foot traffic during the tournament.
The Downtown Seattle Association said the data provides one of the clearest indicators yet of the economic and visitor impact the World Cup had on Seattle’s urban core, even without international visitor counts.
Source: Downtown Seattle Association, using foot traffic data from Placer.ai.
