#25 Seattle
▶ RÉSUMÉ: 2017 WNBA All-Star Game; 2021 VenuesNow Conference; 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers; NCAA Division II Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships, Women’s Volleyball Championship and Men’s and Women’s Soccer Championships (all in 2022); 2023 NCAA Division
I Women’s Basketball Regionals; 2023 Pac-12 Swimming and Diving Championships; 2023 Green Sports Alliance Summit; 2023 MLB All-Star Game and Draft; 2023 NHL Board of Governors Meeting; and 2024 NHL Discover Winter Classic.
▶ RECENT WINS: 2024 KPMG Women’s PGA
Championship; NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball first and second rounds, Men’s Golf Championships, Men’s and Women’s Swimming Championships, and National Collegiate Women’s Gymnastics Championships (all in 2025); 2026 NCAA Division II Field Hockey Championship; and 2026 FIFA World Cup (six matches).
While recent major league events have provided national exposure to the city’s event-hosting chops, the market features several under-the-radar venues such as the Seattle Sounders FC’s new $70 million training center, which has four full-size training pitches and will serve as base camp for a team in the 2026 World Cup, and the internationally respected Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center, where over 200 world records have been set.
▶ FORWARD PROGRESS: A $1.9 billion expansion of the Seattle Convention Center Summit wrapped up last year that nearly doubled the venue’s event capacity and made it one of of only a handful of convention centers with more than 1 million square feet of event space. The 120-room boutique Hotel Westland is scheduled to open this fall a few blocks from Lumen Field and TMobile Park.
▶ STAY AND PLAY: The Museum of Pop Culture is next to Climate Pledge Arena, and next year’s completion of the Seattle Waterfront Park will connect downtown and the can’t-miss Pike Place Market with the waterfront promenade.