‘Let’s keep that new car smell’: Jake and Spike ask listeners if Seattle will keep its World Cup glow or revert to old ways
Jul 7, 2026, 6:28 PM
Seattle ramped up cleanup efforts ahead of the World Cup, removing more than 5 million pounds of trash, including more than 660,000 needles. But now that the games are over, KIRO hosts Jake Skorheim and Spike O’Neill posed the question: Can the city keep it up?
The responses were split. Some texted in hoping the city could build on the momentum, while others said they fully expect Seattle to revert to its old ways.
“I’ll start with 206, which is, I think, what we all hope for. It says, ‘Let’s keep that new car smell.’ No one wants to see a reversion to the bad policies and the inactions that led us to what we had to fix to be ready for a national audience,” Spike said on “The Jake and Spike Show” on KIRO Newsradio.
Meanwhile, another listener was far less optimistic about the city’s ability to stay the course.
“Dave in Olympia says, ‘Jake, I have absolutely zero confidence that the city will stay the way it has been during the World Cup. I 100% think that it will go back to the terrible, crime-ridden acceptance of drug use that it was before, and no, they will not have the resources, because all of their policies are there to push out big business, etc,'” Jake said.
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With the World Cup over, Seattle’s extra resources are going away
Spike noted the influx of resources provided by the state, including security, cleanup, and equipment, is all going away now that the World Cup has left.
“Seattle dedicated itself out of their budget, I believe something like $32 million to extra stuff to make this area desirable for people,” Jake responded. “And the whole idea was somebody comes and visits, and they like it, and they go, ‘What a world-class city this is, amazing. I want to come back and spend money here. I want to build a life here.’ But can they keep that up? And the answer remains to be seen.”
Watch the full discussion in the video above.
Listen to “The Jake and Spike Show” weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio 97.3
