Friday, October 2, 2026
A report on the impact of the Olympia-Lacey 2026 FIFA World Cup Fan Zone showed 7,700 people from 17 different states and other countries attended events at Port Plaza in Olympia.
Attendees of the event also had a big impact on a number of local businesses during the course of the four-day event in June.
Thurston Chamber of Commerce CEO David Schaffert and consultant Jennie Foglia-Jones presented the report to the Port of Olympia Commission on Monday, Sept. 14.
The fan zones were FIFA-sanctioned venues where people gathered to watch live broadcasts of World Cup matches.
In Washington, there were nine designated fan zones, with one of them being the Olympia-Lacey Fan Zone. Screenings at the Olympia-Lacey fan zone were held on June 19 and 24-26.
The chamber led the project in partnership with Port of Olympia, which provided the venue, and Olympia, Lacey and Tumwater.
Before beginning their report, Schaffert expressed gratitude to port leadership and staff for their effort in making the fan zone a possibility despite operational shifts.
The fan zone had to be relocated from NorthPoint to Port Plaza less than a month before the first day of the event.
Foglia-Jones, who served as the project manager of the fan zone, said it welcomed 7,700 visitors across four days despite occasional rain. The venue reached maximum capacity on its first day during the United States and Australia match.
Attendees came from 17 U.S. states and foreign countries, such as Egypt Finland, Kenya and Taiwan.
Foglia-Jones said the community response was overwhelmingly positive.
“We had a lot of interest in people saying, ‘Can you please do more of these?’ They really wanted watch parties,” she said.
Foglia-Jones added local downtown restaurants experienced a substantial boost in visitors. Local businesses were further supported through the SEA&WIN app, a walking tour app created by Seattle FIFA to drive foot traffic to local businesses.
In terms of environmental impact, Foglia-Jones said through the help of volunteers, the event achieved a 30 percent waste diversion rate, diverting 620 pounds of recycled materials from landfills.
The fan zones featured food and entertainment, with a highlight on local businesses. Four local breweries were featured, including Well 80 Brewhouse of Olympia, which received an honorary beacon from Seattle FIFA.
Foglia-Jones said two Seattle FIFA ambassadors attended the fan zone: former Seattle Sounders FC players Zach Scott and Kelyn Rowe.
Nonprofits were also a highlight. Foglia-Jones said Puget Sound Energy donated a neon-lit selfie station that promoted a chosen nonprofit. Arrangements are being made to rewrap its base with commemorative text before it is permanently mounted at the Port Plaza.
Port commissioners expressed appreciation to the organizers and regional partners for their efforts.
Commissioner Joel Hansen said he would like to explore the idea of creating a similar event for games involving the Seahawks or Mariners.
Commissioner Jasmine Vasavada, however, raised a question she heard from the community about why the fan zone was ticketed rather than being free.
The fan zone charged $10, while children 12 and under were free. Premium tickets were also available for $75, which included priority entry, free snacks and beverage, and access to exclusive areas.
Schaffert explained that without a historic financial model, organizers went with a nominal ticket price to offset substantial costs, including the cost of renting LED screens, which was roughly $100,000.
Foglia-Jones added that hosts of the fan zones received no funding from FIFA and had to self-fund themselves. To ensure broader access, she said free tickets were distributed to the Salvation Army.
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JulesJames
Three hard numbers. 7,700 attendees. $10 ticket price. $100,000 screens. By these numbers, the very best outcome was $100,000 spent for $77,000 in income. Would like to see the net totals before knowing whether this was a good use of Port efforts.
Monday, September 21 Report this
TheVirtualOne
Great observations and comments JulesJames. Another good example of lack of understanding and financial responsibility. This thing lost money and they consider it a “success”. The $77,000 estimate of income is high as many free tickets were distributed. This is why government is so screwed up. And they want to do more of these for things like the Seahawks and Mariners? Give me a break! This is another way party animals get subsidies for their events.
Monday, September 21 Report this
CobraCommander
TheVirtualOne ok now review fiscal responsibility on the federal level
Monday, September 21 Report this
Boatyarddog
Geez, The first two commenter were notified in advance that this would be a bust AT BEST, Humm!. The Port here is S***
Monday, September 21 Report this
Snevets
Commissioner Jasmine Vasavada, however, raised a question she heard from the community about why the fan zone was ticketed rather than being free.
How else is the Port going to make money if events are free?
Shoe String Circus was here
on Port land but there was no charge for parking.
Tuesday, September 22 Report this
Oly1956
The port had no revenue or cost. It helped organize the event financially using funds from other cities and the chamber.
It's facilities and staff helped with the location, but it was not concerned with any finances like ticket pricing or lost revenue.
Again, the constant trolling about the Port is incorrect. This was paid for completely by other entities. If anything, they should be thanked by the community for always being flexible and helping host events.
Tuesday, September 22 Report this
Person of Interest
Vasavada’s comments on tickets being free indicates a lack of understanding on how you defray the costs of events of this sort. The Port should be supporting these events as a community benefit but it did commit resources to the event so there is an intangible cost associated with the event and possibly a direct costs if it helped cover any Fan Fest direct costs.
The next similar event would be the Olympics in 2028 and in no way would there be support from the NFL or MLB for such an event competing with actual NFL or MLB games.
Tuesday, September 22 Report this
ViaLocal
spoiler alert: there is no fiscal responsibility on the federal level so thevirtualone will not be commenting again
Tuesday, September 22 Report this
RondaLarsonKramer
Some of the comments to this article illustrate a fundamental misunderstanding about public investment. We don't build a freeway, trail, library, or park and then call it a financial failure because user fees didn't cover the cost. The question is whether the public investment produces benefits for the broader community.
That's exactly what is interesting about the Fan Zone. Thousands of people came to the waterfront, and downtown restaurants experienced a substantial increase in customers. The economic benefit didn't necessarily show up on the Port's balance sheet. It showed up throughout the community.
And that's why I think the Fan Zone provides a glimpse of a much bigger opportunity for the Port peninsula.
Instead of devoting enormous amounts of publicly owned waterfront land to an industrial marine terminal that handles relatively few ships and requires substantial public investment to maintain, imagine creating a major public waterfront destination—with parks, events, recreation, natural areas, food, gathering spaces, and a continuous waterfront trail.
A public waterfront doesn't need to turn a profit at the property line to be successful. Its economic return occurs throughout the surrounding economy: more customers for restaurants and shops, more visitors staying in hotels, more events, more jobs, and a more vibrant downtown.
That's economic development too—and potentially a much more powerful form of economic development than trying to extract revenue from each individual waterfront parcel.
Tuesday, September 22 Report this
Jamama
Bravo Ronda, so true!
And creating a win-win would be even more advantageous for the community. For example I have no problem imagining that were we to transform the unsightly, polluting, out-dated and financially hemorrhaging Marine Terminal into a thriving open-to-the-public place of waterfront trails, recreational activities, markets, entertainment and participatory events (covered bandshell, anyone?) and most of all ACCESS...the Port would actually increase their revenue, decrease the taxes we pay them to cover operations, and we'd all be much happier with the outcome :-)
Tuesday, September 22 Report this