Seattle and Lumen Field earned national recognition throughout the FIFA World Cup, with some of the tournament’s highest rankings for stadium experience, atmosphere and the city surrounding it.
A City and Its Stadium
Six FIFA World Cup matches put Lumen Field on one of the biggest stages in sports. Once fans and international media arrived, the reviews started coming in.
The Athletic and New York Times writers covering the tournament ranked Seattle and Atlanta together at No. 1 among all 16 World Cup stadium experiences, each scoring 47 out of 50.
Writer Simon Hughes praised Lumen Field’s distinctive design, but what stood out most was everything around it: a downtown stadium people could easily reach, Pioneer Square buzzing before matches, and independent bars, pubs and restaurants filled with supporters.
Seattle Gets Its Flowers
The recognition extended beyond Lumen Field.
Sports Illustrated ranked Seattle No. 2 among all 16 FIFA World Cup Host Cities, pointing to the stadium atmosphere, downtown location, transit access, nearby entertainment and the broader matchday experience.
Action Network’s Fan Experience Index placed Seattle No. 1 among U.S. Host Cities and No. 3 across North America, measuring everything from accessibility and affordability to atmosphere, weather and hotel access.
Different rankings measured different things. They kept arriving at a similar conclusion: Seattle was a pretty great place to experience a World Cup.
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