Spokane named FIFA World Cup fan zone by Seattle organizing committee

Spokane has been named one of nine official fan zones by the Seattle FIFA World Cup organizing committee in a bid to engage the entire state with the 2026 competition, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

What this designation means for Spokane remains to be seen, but organizers intend for each fan zone to host activities and entertainment to encourage buy-in with their respective regions, city spokeswoman Erin Hut said in a brief Tuesday interview.

“We’re starting to engage with different community groups in Spokane to see what level of involvement they want to have with this to get people to come to Spokane to engage with the World Cup,” Hut said.

Spokane remains a potential base camp to host one of the competing teams, but this likely won’t be decided until 2026. Base camps are where teams train and rest between matches.

In addition to Spokane, Bellingham, Bremerton, Everett, the Tri-Cities, Olympia and Lacey, Tacoma, Vancouver and Yakima have all been named fan zones by the organizing committee in Seattle.