CID calmly prepares for World Cup despite uncertainty

By Irfan Shariff
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

It takes fewer than 15 minutes to walk from Lumen Field to the Thai street food eatery, E-Jae Pak Mor and Pum Yamamoto is preparing for an influx of foot traffic to her restaurant. 

“We are preparing by focusing on operational readiness,” she said. 

In less than six months, the Seattle FIFA World Cup 26 Local Organizing Committee (SeattleFWC26) estimates an influx of 750,000 soccer fans to the neighborhoods surrounding Lumen Field, which will host six World Cup matches. Visit Seattle says the event will generate $929 million and support over 20,000 jobs. The Chinatown-International District (CID) is currently preparing.

Yamamoto, however, is preparing conservatively. 

“If foot traffic is higher than expected, we are ready to scale. If it’s slower, we will control costs and focus on our regular customers.” she said. “Flexibility is our backup plan.”

As part of an initiative launched one year ago, SeattleFWC26 paired the CID, SODO, and Pioneer Square, each with a dedicated, full-time liaison embedded into the community. Carmen Pan was appointed as the CID’s liaison within Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority (SCIDpda) last June. Her appointment ends this July.

In her official role as “sports economy coordinator,” Pan focuses on small business readiness through email and text communications, and door-to-door checkins. Pan also distills playbooks created by FWC26 at in-person information sessions. 

“We’re not telling them to amp up or slow down,” she said. “It’s hard to predict crowds…but, of course they can be influenced.”

This job, however, is bigger than a single person. An Huynh, director of community development at SCIDpda, reserves at least 20% of her time to help Pan. Huynh is also part of the CID’s Small Business Relief Team (SBRT), formed between SCIDpda, Chinatown-International District Business Improvement Area (CIDBIA), and Friends of Little Saigon in 2020 to guide businesses through COVID. Many SBRT members also devote their time.

Much like COVID, the World Cup this summer will be unprecedented and has been called the largest international sporting event ever. 

“I think we’re doing as much as we can to prepare for an event that we’ve never experienced before,” said Huynh.

Tuyen Than, executive director of the CIDBIA, calls this a soccer tsunami. “You can just let it happen or you can prepare,” she said. 

Last December, Than was invited to Washington, D.C., by SeattleFWC26 to watch the World Cup Final Draw. At the event, teams learned who they were matched against and Than learned how SeattleFW26 operated. 

“As they are getting information, they are sharing with us as quickly as possible,” Than said. “They started planning as soon as the bid was won.”

Huynh agrees but “recognizes they (FWC26) are also middlemen. FIFA decides and higher levels of government decide. We don’t have a say in all the things coming down. We have to be reactive in some ways.” 

“There are many things we still don’t know,” said Pan, specifically regarding sweeps and temporary housing for populations occupying Little Saigon. Pan is confident in the city’s and committee’s transportation plans, and is comfortable knowing CIDBIA’s history managing sanitation in the area with Seattle Public Utilities.

“The World Cup will be one of those moments that will highlight or exacerbate the needs of the community long-term,” Huynh said. “We can use this as an opportunity to have those conversations.”

Than is concerned if support from the city will continue after the World Cup and the community feels the same. 

“My biggest concerns are safety, cleanliness, small-business displacement, and whether the community will truly benefit from large events like the World Cup,” said Yamamoto. “I hope it brings lasting support, not just short-term traffic.”

Than believes most businesses “are just trying to survive and take it one day at a time…For the future of the CID, I don’t know if they are thinking that far ahead.”

“The CID has been burned before,” she said, referring to other major sporting events held at Lumen Field that didn’t translate to the neighborhood.”

She wants the “idea of the CID as a destination to be ingrained in people.”

To learn more about how the CID is preparing for the FIFA World Cup, visit this FAQ.