LOS ANGELES — Seattle Sports Commission president Beth Knox talked with KING 5's Jake Garcia at the MLB All-Star Fan Fest.
She discusses what she's hoping to learn from the Los Angeles All-Star experience and how she can apply it to the Seattle All-Star experience in 2023.
Question: What are the next few days in Los Angeles going to look like for you?
Answer: Well, we work closely with MLB to lay out our agenda for this week, or for the few days that we're here. So we started off at Santa Monica Pier for the Fan Fest down on the waterfront. That was an event that really was focused on getting the general public to experience baseball. But now Play Ball Park and Home Run Derby, all of these events that will lead up of course to the All-Star Game, but this is an All-Star week.
Q: So Fan Fest has brought out thousands of baseball fans for these few days before the All-Star Game. Can Seattle expect something similar to this when the event comes to town next year?
A: Absolutely. We will have a Fan Fest and a Play Ball Park and all the activities that you see down here in L.A., but the difference is it will be uniquely Seattle. That's really important to Major League Baseball that each host city is showcasing what is special about their city.
Q: Will it be an economic net positive for Seattle next year?
A: Absolutely. There are opportunities for us to bring in so many visitors that will fill up our hotel rooms. They will be in our restaurants. They will be in downtown businesses, and that is part of the activation that we are planning is ways that we'll get the visitors and the fans out into the community and spending their money while they are in Seattle. So we have a delegation from community leaders as well as representatives from the city so that we can understand what what the opportunities are and what the challenges might be.
Q: How excited are you for Seattle to finally host an All-Star Game next year?
A: Oh my gosh, this is such a pivotal moment for us to be able to host a major event like the All-Star Game. It's not only exciting for that event, but it serves as a launch for how we are bringing sports into our community in the future.