What's up, South End?
The big event this week is the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will bring a global sporting event into our city.
With FIFA expecting about 750,000 tourists coming into Seattle for the games, local businesses are anticipating a huge influx of foot traffic and sales.
As expected, there have been a bunch of official guides, sponsored events, and World Cup signage to lead tourists to affiliated businesses in neighborhoods across the city.
And here's where it gets … interesting.
The South End has been left out of these efforts to get FIFA fans into local businesses. Even though the light rail runs right through our neighborhoods, there's been no official push to let people know there's plenty to explore in our community.
The 98118 has been one of the most diverse ZIP codes in the country for many years, which leads to the question: If you look at the diverse countries participating in the World Cup, and the South End is where so many immigrants and different cultures actually live and have businesses, why wouldn't this community be prioritized in promoting our city to tourists who are here for the event?
It turns out, I'm not the only one asking these questions. The Essential Southeast Seattle Collective penned an op-ed this week addressing this very issue. This collective includes business associations throughout Southeast Seattle, and they've been pushing for inclusion in World Cup festivities and promotion for years. Unfortunately, they say, the South End was left out.
I recently spoke with Sarah Valenta, the director of community and business development at HomeSight, a local org focused on community engagement that was a founding member of the MLK Business Association. She's a co-signer of the op-ed, and we chatted about the South End being left out of World Cup planning, why this is a big deal, and where you can watch World Cup matches in the neighborhood.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
MD: What type of work does the Essential Southeast Seattle Collective do?
SV: We do a lot of digital access and education in our area. There are still businesses that don't have point of purchase technology; some don't even have Wi-Fi. We are the home of Plate of Nations through the MLK Business Association, which we staffed.
Our main focus is anti-displacement. That's why, you know, MLKBA started, because the light rail and eminent domain and all that stuff was happening — we wanted businesses to have the opportunity to stay, if that's what they wanted to do. To stay and grow. We believe that just like homeownership builds generational wealth, so does business ownership, and that's very important in the South End.
A lot of immigrants that come into the U.S. land especially in the South End of Seattle, and one of the ways that they participate in community and make it home for themselves is through starting a business and creating a space for others that come into the community to gather.
MD: What happened with the World Cup? How did the South End get left out?
SV: That's what we're asking as well, and we're not sure, because we have been involved in this since the conception of the idea. In fact, when the city first started talking about trying to get the World Cup here, which was an active process, they mentioned, 'Oh, Plate of Nations would be a really great thing to connect with this,' but that sort of just got dropped. We were in all the meetings where this stuff was talked about. We tried to apply for stuff. We don't know why we were excluded.
South Seattle is once again facing systemic exclusion from an economic opportunity. It's not like we don't get financial support from the city. The city has been generous with us. I don't want to throw them under the bus, but there are so many opportunities that came out of the World Cup that we have not been included in.
MD: Why is this exclusion a big deal?
SV: Because we're what makes the city so great. We're the place that everybody from outside of our country, that lives inside of our country, comes to get a taste of home. Seattle wants to be about inclusion. As progressives, if we're not supporting our neighbors and a community that's as diverse as Southeast Seattle, what are we doing?
MD: Where are a few good places to experience the World Cup in the South End?
SV: Rough & Tumble down in Columbia City. Also, a great place in my neck of the woods is Bang Bang Kitchen, which has a fantastic bar, and their food is amazing. They have these spicy honey chicken wings that are outstanding, and they will be showing some games. And Platinum Plush Fashions. They have created all this merchandise that they want to sell for a World Cup, and they'll be showing games.
For local businesses, having a global sporting event like the World Cup come to your city can be a once-in-a-lifetime event. As I'm sure y'all have noticed, that "one time" is happening right now in Seattle.
There are watch parties, sponsored events, and official guides popping up everywhere, mostly aimed at helping the influx of tourists navigate our city.
Here in the South End, a coalition of business districts are asking a big question: Why have our neighborhoods been left out of the World Cup planning?
You can read about how the South End was forgotten by FIFA (and the City of Seattle) in this op-ed by Essential Southeast Seattle Collective here. And, perhaps just as importantly, the article has a link to a bunch of places in our neighborhood where you can watch World Cup games.
King County Executive Girmay Zahilay gave his first State of the County address last week. It's been seven months since the former King County councilmember and South End native took office.
Contributor Connor Nash has all the highlights and important information from the address.
In case you missed it: The Emerald is doing food reviews.
Contributor Grace Madigan will be introducing you to the coolest eateries in the South End.
For this week's review, she visited Mangosteen's, a newer restaurant known for some of the best wings in the city. She discovered that the wings live up to the rep, but there was plenty more deliciousness on the menu.
This is an abbreviated version of The Roundup newsletter. To get the entire newsletter, including a weekly list of events to check out and my shout-out to South End Gems, subscribe here. See you next week!
Mike Davis is the newsletter editor and Voices editor at the South Seattle Emerald. Born and raised in Seattle's South End, Mike is a longtime journalist who's covered everything from arts and culture to sports to politics.
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