Major League Baseball All-Star Week to bring $50M to Seattle

SEATTLE — The Major League Baseball All-Star Week will bring $50 million in revenue, according to a new survey by Visit Seattle, double the take from the last time the event was held in the city.

“It's a different event,” said Kelly Saling, senior vice president and chief sales officer for Visit Seattle, who conducted the survey, who noted that the festivities will include multiple stadium events over different days, the Major League Baseball Draft, and “Play Ball Park.”

“Hopefully that extends the time in the city that the visitors are here. All of that does create additional impact. That said in our system, $50 million is more than double what we projected the 2001 impact to be,” she said, explaining how the organization arrived at the number. “It's powered by all kinds of data, including tourism, economics, and a formula of attendees, overnight visitors and number of tickets sold. The cost of the hotel rooms, all of those pieces are factored in.”

Hotel room rates are already soaring for the July event, with listings already in the $400-$500 a night range in downtown or near the stadium. Saling acknowledges the demand will come at a time when cruise ships are in full swing, and school is out of session, which works to boost rates.

“We know that it's already high tide season for Seattle for tourism, it's coming off the Fourth of July. So summer's officially started with the fifth, right? We've got cruises in, we've got convention business and now we get to have the All-Star Game. That does create great demand, which then creates compression for the entire region,” she said.

In a certain respect, the All-Star Game week will serve as a precursor for two other major sporting events scheduled for Seattle: The NHL’s Winter Classic and the 2026 World Cup. Just this week, FIFA announced that it has expanded the field, and number of games, increasing the likelihood that Seattle will host more international matches than ever before. Saling said she believes the events have already helped drive coordination with the City of Seattle over traffic, public safety and managing crowds.

“All of those have been well synced, so that they are totally up to speed on where they can best be ready and also make a difference. I think it's all of our hope, though, that the city looks good not just for a special event. But in general. I don't think it's anybody's hope to have it look good just on camera but actually be a great place for all of us who live here and love it.” she said.

The optics will be important, as Major League Baseball has already indicated that it will utilize Pike Place Market for the events. Saling said the Space Needle and “water opportunities” are also in play for the events.

It will be the third time that Seattle has hosted the All-Star Game. Besides 2001, the Kingdome played host to the event in 1979.