GNDT March 19 – 25

City of Seattle, Washington sent this bulletin at 03/25/2025 04:15 PM PDT
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Hi all,

Sending another Good News Downtown, a communication to showcase uplifting, interesting, positive stories about activities and people Downtown.

If you have news or events to share or if you want to talk about the work being done to revitalize Downtown, send me an email.

NCAA men's tournament


🏀 Seattle scores big: NCAA tournament energizes Downtown and brings economic boost 🏀

Seattle is a basketball town. Downtown was buzzing with energy this weekend as Climate Pledge Arena hosted the First and Second Round of the Men’s NCAA Tournament. While it’s been a decade since the men’s tournament came to town, Seattle proudly welcomed the Women’s NCAA Sweet 16 and Elite Eight in 2023. ⛹️

ICYMI, check out the fans in this KOMO News story: NCAA tournament returns to Seattle after a decade, energizing downtown businesses and fans.

Visit Seattle projected this weekend’s tournament could bring an estimated $13.6 million in economic impact to local businesses, giving Downtown a slam dunk of a boost.

Weekly digest

Makers innovation lab

Credit: Pacific Science Center

🖼️ The PacSci campus is opening more public space as part of new plans unveiled by the City of Seattle and Pacific Science Center. This includes a 14,000-square-foot Makerspace and an updated courtyard that will connect Belltown to the Seattle Center campus: Pacific Science Center and Seattle Center forge new partnership – The Seattle Times.

New life is coming to the former Bartell Drugs at 5th and Olive this summer. Columbia Food Co will be opening their second Downtown deli there. Deli coming to former Bartell Drugs space in downtown Seattle – Puget Sound Business Journal.

🍜 From phở, to spring rolls and bánh mì, the Chinatown-International District is well represented in a recent roundup of The Best Vietnamese Restaurants in Seattle – Seattle Met, giving you a spot to go for lunch every day of the week:

🛴 Seattle is emerging as one of the top cities for Lime scooters across the world, according to Lime data, with particular rides during commuter hours in Downtown and South Lake Union areas: Seattle one of the top Lime e-scooter-using cities globally, 1 million rides in 3 months – KOMO News.

Return to office isn’t happening just at Amazon. CBRE’s John Miller told CBS that the Rainier Tower is almost completely full as CBRE reports a record number of commercial deals in Seattle in 2024. Amazon employee says returning to office full-time is "new normal" – CBS News.

Seattle's hotels could net record revenues with predicted increases in business travel. Return to office work increased local business travel and leisure travel is also expected to increase significantly with the Men’s World Cup coming up: Seattle hotels will set revenue record in 2025, CBRE predicts – Puget Sound Business Journal

Looking ahead

Ichiro Suzuki throwing baseball

Credit: Getty Images

Seattle Mariners 🔱 open their season this Thursday, March 27. Festivities include Ichiro Suzuki’s ceremonial first pitch, player introductions, and more in the Mariners' traditional Opening Day ceremonies: Mariners announce 2025 Opening Day events at T-Mobile Park.

Tickets are available now for the Seattle AI Film Festival, March 29 – 31, at M5 Creative. From AI comedies, documentaries to sci-fi thrillers, this event will showcase the intersection of technology and entertainment. 🎞️

Seattle Restaurant week promotion graphic

🍽️ Seattle Restaurant Week is back from March 30 to April 12. With dozens of local eateries in Downtown Seattle participating, it's the perfect opportunity to explore a variety of cuisines.

With new arrangements of “Honky Tonk Angels,” “Jolene,” “Islands in the Stream,” and other classics, Seattle Men’s Chorus honors Dolly Parton in their new show, Dolly, which will be performed at the Paramount Theatre on Saturday, April 5, and Sunday, April 6.

Seattle Center and the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture are hosting a sculpture walk as part of the Temporary Art Program. The exhibit features work by three commissioned artists and runs through April 2025.