‘We proved we can pull this off’: Gee, Ursula debate Seattle’s World Cup legacy

While the FIFA World Cup matches in Seattle brought massive crowds, packed public transit, filled restaurants, and garnered tons of international attention and praise, organizers have said that the biggest win is what has been left behind.

Across the state, 52 new soccer fields were built, with Seattle’s World Cup organizing committee supporting 15 of them, and a new street soccer park was also built in Tacoma, designed to be used for blind soccer training.

Gee Scott and Ursula Reutin, co-hosts of “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio, debated what Seattle’s World Cup legacy would be, with Ursula finding the city proved it can host an event of this magnitude.

“Gee, you were obviously closely connected to what was going on here as the emcee; I just wasn’t aware of all these other benefits,” Ursula said. “I know that it brought in business and put Seattle on the map. We basically were able to prove that we can pull something off like this, but I didn’t know about these other things that are going to last longer than the tournament.”

Among the list of benefits left behind were new public art installations designed by local artists across the city and the SODO Welcome Center, built with the intention of helping international visitors navigate downtown during the World Cup, which featured a map highlighting nearly 170 local businesses and cultural hotspots.

Listener asks whether Seattle’s clean streets will endure after World Cup

Ursula read a question from a listener that asked if Seattle’s notably clean streets would be the legacy that people take away as the tournament concluded.

“I hope so. I was hearing more conversation about how it was great while the World Cup was here, we were hosting matches, but already you’re going to be seeing the homeless come back,” Ursula said. “When you have so many people swarming into downtown and Pioneer Square and the waterfront, a lot of the elements that we bring up are less visible. Obviously, it’s not going to be the same level. I do hope the city uses this as a pivotal moment and builds on the momentum, and I think there are people willing to do that, but we have to be realistic.”

Gee noted that while many of the homeless downtown were moved away from the many World Cup gathering places, there still isn’t a perfect city in America that doesn’t have its fair share of homeless, graffiti, and other crimes.

“We’ve done this before. When people are talking about the clean streets of Seattle, and where the homeless were, will the homeless come back? First of all, where did the homeless go?” Gee asked. “My question is for the clean streets conversation, or the next time you’re at the family get-together and somebody’s telling you, ‘Oh, I hope they keep the streets clean.’ What city in the United States do you compare this to? What city has all clean streets? Which one in the United States?”

“I don’t know of one,” Ursula responded.

“That’s what I’m saying,” Gee said.

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.