A RESOLUTION supporting The City of Seattle’s proposal to be a host city for the 2026 Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup.
Okay. We're going to move to the adoption of other resolutions and please read the agenda number seven into the record. At Jeanette and seven resolution 31731 supporting the City of Seattle proposal to be host city for the 2026 Federation Transit the Football Association World Cup. As swimmer Johnson. Thank you. Council President. I'd like to thank those of you that stuck around for this. If we're successful in 2026, you'll be able to say, I was there when the city first took a baby. Step forward to making it possible for the city of Seattle to host the World Cup. The United States as part of a three country application called the United Bid, with Canada and Mexico to bring the World Cup to North America in 2026. Seattle is currently being considered as one of 32 potential cities that could host World Cup. That list of 32 will be winnowed down to 12 eventually, as the 12 selected cities would then host each of four teams that would come to the U.S., Canada and Mexico for that 2026 World Cup. The resolution today supports the city's proposal to to be on the list of 32 considered candidate cities. We've got a great long history here in this city with our current two professional sports teams in the Sounders in the rain being very competitive at the national level, with our players being consistently called up to be part of the national team. And with more than 125,000 kids participating in youth soccer, not only in the city but throughout the region. Our support goes back to the, you know, early to mid seventies with the first iteration of the Sounders. And we've got really wonderful examples of both men and women being pioneers in this field with folks like Michelle Akers and Casey Keller being inducted in the National Soccer Hall of Fame. Hosting the World Cup, of course, is would represent a tremendous opportunity for us, but as was brought up a lot during council briefing, also would represent some opportunities for improvement, particularly as it relates to FIFA's reputation around workers rights, human rights and other issues. I think it's a great opportunity for us to show that we can be successful at bringing the World Cup to a place that does prioritize workers rights, does prioritize human rights and the rights of every citizen and resident, regardless of citizenship. So I'm happy to answer individual questions folks might have, but hopeful that we will adopt this resolution today to take a baby step forward in the application process that could potentially one day yield to Seattle hosting a World Cup in 2026. Thank you very much. Before we discuss it much further, I believe Councilmember Mosquito may have a substituted version she'd like to talk about and possibly men. So, Councilmember Skater, you have the floor. Thank you, Mr. President. I would move to amend resolution 31791 by substituting version two for version one B. Second. We'd like to discuss the changes. Yes, thank you, Mr. President. And thanks to the sponsor of this resolution. As folks know, I'm very interested in making sure that we both highlight the beauty and benefits of the city and that we continue to promote ourself as a sports champion. I have also had the benefit of being able to participate in the World Cup going to Brazil a few years back. I am very supportive of the effort to bring the World Cup to our city. But I also want to make sure that we continue to advance the rights of workers. You mentioned in earlier testimony, the testimony we heard was that protecting the environment is paramount. Protecting human rights and workers rights is also paramount, as Councilmember Johnson mentioned. And I think with the resolution you see in front of you, it underscores that we have been a leader in labor protections in the past, this council passing sick and safely raising the minimum wage, our community as a whole, passing initiative. 124 And while I'm interested in making sure that we are able to attract the World Cup to this area, I also want to make sure that we lift up protections for workers investments in our community, protect construction workers, hotel workers, restaurant workers. And I think we have the opportunity to do that with the World Cup coming here. So this amendment basically just makes it clear that we're sending a clear policy statement, that it reminds us that we don't lose sight of the broader goal of advancing worker protections while ensuring that businesses can thrive and that our community thrives as a whole. And it directs resources into making sure that we're investing into programs like Housing and Anti Displaced. And strategies. As opposed to what we've seen in other countries. We have the benefit here of having infrastructure already in place, creating a world class arena. That means that we're not displacing folks. But I also want to underscore the importance of as we create infrastructure to bring folks here, as we housed them, as we put them into our union hotels that we're reinvesting in, making sure that the services meet our community needs, not just those of the investors for FIFA. I appreciate Councilmember Gonzalez's comments this morning of wanting to make sure that we do it different here in Seattle, different than what we've seen in the past when it comes to investments in past World Cups. And I think we're on the way to do that. So what you have in front of you is a friendly amendment, I think the sponsor of this amendment for allowing us to put this forward to the mayor, for putting forward this amendment as a whole. I think the labor community for their interest in making sure that we have good living wage jobs, benefits and training programs. And I want to say my commitment is to also making sure that we're not displacing folks that are investing in our community. And I think having this resolution move forward is a good first step to looking holistically at the benefits of having both the World Cup here, but also looking at our community needs first. Very good. So the first vote will take us just on the amendment. And so as we have just the amendment on for any further comments about the amendment, which is a substitution. So it's been moved to substitute version two for version one because they're second. All those in favor of the amendment. Please vote I. I opposed. The ayes have it. We have a two minute version. Either one else like to talk about the amended resolution we're about to pass judgment. Councilmember Herbold. Thank you. So whenever we get legislation that refers to a previous piece of legislation, I like to take a look at what that what that says. And in this instance, the resolution before us refers to requirements set forth in resolution 30340. And that was a resolution passed in 2001 in the wake of a much larger event, the WTO. And that resolution identified a process for the city acting as a potential bidder for to be a host city and other types of events. And there are several things that are contemplated in that process that even though this resolution says we are we're going to use the requirements set forth in Resolution 30340. As I read that resolution, these are things that are supposed to happen before we submit a bid. I've heard that there's a January 19th deadline. I'm not sure I understand what that deadline is, because I've also read that we've already submitted a bid in that in October 4th, there was an announcement that 32 of 41 cities that have submitted a bid have moved through that initial process. And perhaps this is just a further another bid to further winnow. But my concern is that there are a number of things that we. Are. Required to do as as it relates specifically to cost recovery and protecting the city's liability, that I'm going to support this resolution. But I really hope that we are committed to doing these these these actions that I believe the city is actually supposed to do before we pass a resolution like this. And so some of those things relate to asking CPD to make an evaluation of what the overtime costs are estimated to be. And if it's if there are overtime costs that are estimated to be more than 3% of its overtime budget, it's considered to be a major a major event. And in that triggers some some additional steps for for the city. There is language actually in FIFA document called the overview of government guarantees and government declaration, specifically including a section on government guarantee, safety and security that says in order to achieve the best possible security environment for competition, the government is requested at its own cost to assume full responsibility for safety and security at the competition and competition related events. These include developing a security strategy and concept in close cooperation with further state, regional and municipal government, law enforcement and security authorities in the host country. Host countries implementing the necessary security measures and assuming liability for safety and security incidents. And I understand that there has been some. Some movement towards allowing cities to accomplish some limited or hopefully more than limited cost recovery. But given that this is something that our own city auditor has recently identified as an area where we need significant improvements, the city recovers on average 27% of CPD wage costs for permitted events. This is an area that I am hoping that the city does more work on before taking the next step on submitting its bid. Good for you. Very good. Comes from her about any other questions or concerns going forward concerning Gonzalez? No questions, but I just want to reiterate what I said at this morning's council briefing. I want to first thank Councilmember Herbold for being very diligent and going back and looking up that resolution. I appreciate that. I think that those are very good points and sort of dovetail nicely with the concerns that I expressed this morning. I am also going to vote in favor of this resolution, but not without saying on the record that I have ongoing concerns about FIFA as an organization. And those are no secret to the general public in terms of what those issues are and are very well documented in a bunch of sports documentaries that sometimes I spend time watching on the weekend with my husband. But I think that there are real concerns about their business practices, not just their labor practices and human rights practices , but their business practices as a whole. And I think that the resolution that Councilmember Herbold has referenced in her comments highlight why it's important to have those accountability principles in place and to make sure that they are. Vigorously applied as the. City moves forward in expressing even even in just expressing its interest in being a host. I think it's important that folks understand what they get if they sign up to do business with us in the in the city of city of Seattle. So hopefully the organizers here hear us loud and clearly on that point and and that we can proceed in a way that will be successful and that will truly show that things are done differently here in the city of Seattle. Very good. And it's okay that you're a Bryant Gumbel fan. We won't hold that against any other further comments or concerns. And I really appreciate the comments made by our colleagues. And again, we're not going to this blindly, both from a human rights standpoint or from a fiscal standpoint. So thanks for bringing it forward. And if there are no further comments. It's a resolution. So I'm going to ask that those in favor of adopting the resolution, the amended resolution, please. But I. I. All those opposed vote no. The motion carries and the resolution as amended is adopted and the chair will sign it. Can we have one other resolution with the clerk, please, that went into the record.