Convention City Seattle

The Convention City Dispatch

Reports from Seattle's geographic center — the intersection of Downtown, Capitol Hill, First Hill, and Denny Triangle

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An IKE digital advertising kiosk labeled PINE ST with a touchscreen displaying an ad, Downtown Seattle Association and Seattle logos at its base, in a conference hall
Kiosks

Sidewalk Sale

Seattle just licensed twenty years of its public sidewalks to a Columbus billboard company. The neighborhoods that will host the kiosks were never asked — and the city is last in line for the money.

June 11, 2026
Read dispatch →
The Seattle Convention Center Summit entrance, with a circular "2026 Best Managed Convention Center" badge overlaid in the upper-right corner.
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Magna Cum Laude
Seattle Convention Center wants to host the city's graduations. And speaking of valedictorians, guess who earned the BEST MANAGED award and a Smart Star?
June 8, 2026
A speaker at a podium addresses a full room of seated Horizon House residents, with a "Write For Us" Convention City Dispatch slide projected on the screen.
seattle-convention-center
Thank You, Horizon House
A full room on First Hill turned out to talk about the building next door — who runs it, where the money goes, and what a neighborhood with a long civic memory might ask for before the next expansion.
June 5, 2026
A glass storefront on Pike Street under a green C-STAR sign, with an awning and pedestrians passing.
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C-STAR Will Open as a Storefront Safety Hub. Here's What It Looks Like.
Renderings obtained through a public-records request show C-STAR as a glass Pike Street storefront — designed with the police department, the Downtown Seattle Association, and the city's CARE team at the table.
May 29, 2026
Pike Street in front of the Seattle Convention Center. May 6, 2026.
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"No Such Policy Has Been Adopted"
The Seattle Convention Center confirmed it has no sanctuary policy — with a new "Public Safety Hub" opening June 1.
May 27, 2026
Earlier dispatches
May 19, 2026 Fell on Black Days →
A utilization analysis of Seattle Convention Center, based on their own records.
May 18, 2026 You Are Here (Approximately) →
New wayfinding just dropped! Follow at your own risk
May 13, 2026 Convention Center Board Majority Up for Grabs as Six Seats Open This Year →
Ferguson fills empty seat with Roundtable CEO -- five other seats expire July 30.
May 8, 2026 Please Tell Me There's Nothing to Worry About →
It's all just a big misunderstanding, right? This isn't what it looks like, isn't that so? Hello? I even made you a sign.
May 6, 2026 What's Behind the Door at 810 Pike? →
On June 1, a new public-safety facility opens inside the Seattle Convention Center. It's called C-STAR. What else do we know about it?
May 1, 2026 You Can't Have Hospitality Without Hosts →
April 30, 2026 DISPATCH: Week of April 27, 2026 →
EVENT RAP freestyled the commons argument at the Arch. The op-ed landed in The Urbanist. And a GeekWire piece from Sammamish asks a question that lands closer to home than it looks.
April 15, 2026 Two Buildings, Two Kitchens →
How convention center food works
April 8, 2026 It's a Mountain Day →
Eleven works of Pacific Northwest art just joined Seattle's collection of hidden gems.
April 7, 2026 Game On →
Playing games at Sakura-Con
March 30, 2026 Shadows on the Wall →
Seattle Convention Center claims $1.4 million in profit following a $1.9 billion investment. Let's do the math.
March 26, 2026 Sports Book →
Who needs sports bars when we have the Arch?
March 24, 2026 Olive Branch →
A one-bedroom on Pike Street rents for $2,444 a month. You can see the Summit building from your window. The PFD pays $2,426 a year to own the empty lot on the other side of it.
March 16, 2026 Summit 2030: Big Balloon Bailout →
Convention center debt service nearly doubles in 2030. To cover it, Seattle hotel revenue would need to grow 9% every year for six years straight.
March 15, 2026 The Big Tent →
Our circus. Our clowns. Our tent.
March 13, 2026 State of Downtown 2031 →
A neighborhood finds its spine.
March 11, 2026 Let's Put On a Show →
The door to contemporary theater in Seattle is locked. Not a metaphor.
March 5, 2026 Three Trails from Emerald City Comic Con →
25,000 fans will pack the convention center this week. Here's what's outside the doors.
February 28, 2026 Fourth Friday: Downtown Art Walk →
One Friday a month, downtown Seattle finds its rhythm. A dispatch from the February Fourth Friday art walk through the convention district.
February 27, 2026 Pacific Place Activated for SEA 2026 Fan Zones →
The Seattle Sports Commission's Region Ready program is turning Pacific Place into a stadium annex. What that reveals about downtown activation — and who does it.