Maybe you’re just now discovering soccer in the Pacific Northwest because the FIFA World Cup 2026 is heading to Seattle. Welcome! Pull up a chair and a craft brew (or soda for the young ones). Tacoma has been waiting for you!

 

Before we Americans adopted the team scarves and soccer chants of today, way back in the historic era known as the 1980s, Tacoma was packing the Tacoma Dome for indoor soccer matches. Actually, our city still holds the record for the largest crowd to ever watch an indoor soccer match at 21,728 fans during Game 7 of the 1987 Major Indoor Soccer League championship. We may have lost the match, but that record continues to echo across time. In other words, Tacoma was deeply buying into soccer before it was cool. Or, at least, before it was cool again!

 

For Tacoma-born Lane Smith, current owner of the Tacoma Stars, the city’s long relationship with the world’s most popular sport is both history and his personal story. “Tacoma has punched above its weight class in soccer for decades,” he says. 

When the Tacoma Stars first started playing in the 80s, indoor soccer was having a moment in the US. They quickly became one of the sport’s most recognizable teams thanks to the antics of the Leiweke brothers, who created an atmosphere closer to a rock show with lasers, loud music, a cheer squad before they were ubiquitous to most sports, and theatrical introductions. “They had a sport to sell,” explains Smith, “and they had to differentiate it from baseball, football, basketball, and hockey. They created glamour around the game.”

 

That alluring combo of spectacle and hometown pride turned Tacoma into one of the most passionate soccer markets in the country at the time, as evidenced by their record-setting 1987 turnout. 

 

But, as we know, the national affinity for indoor soccer didn’t last. So where did that leave all this local momentum?

Even before the indoor craze quieted, Tacoma was cooking up talent that would make its way to national and global fields. Just imagine being raised with the excitement of the Tacoma Stars; kids everywhere stuck with soccer longer and dreamed bigger than the casual players of other towns. 

 

For evidence, you need only look to Olympic representation and the coaching greats of today. A few examples of local talent include:

 

Stephanie Cox
Olympic gold medalist and US Women’s National Team defender Cox is an icon in the soccer community after nearly 90 appearances for the national team and a gold medal at the 2008 Olympics. She currently coaches at the University of Puget Sound. 

 

Brian Schmetzer
The former Tacoma Stars and Seattle Sounders player is now head coach of the Seattle Sounders team. 

 

Preki
Predrag Radosavljevic, known fondly as “Preki,” was a featured player of the Tacoma Stars. After 24 years of playing soccer, he was Head Coach for Los Angeles’ Chivas USA team, Toronto FC, Sacramento FC, and Saint Louis FC before becoming Assistant Coach under Schmetzer for the Seattle Sounders.

 

Brent Goulet
A Foss High School graduate of the early 80s (amid Tacoma Stars’ heyday), Goulet was named 1987 U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year.

 

Jenna Holtz
The Tacoma-born midfielder has played for Sound FC as Captain, Valadares Gaia FC in Portugal, and Adelaide FC and A-League Women in Australia. 

 

Bruce Arena
The legendary US Coach’s first collegiate head coaching job was in Tacoma at the University of Puget Sound.

 

There are countless other connections between Tacoma and the global soccer scene. One example: in 2012, the Sounders Women hosted several US national team stars while they prepared for the London Olympics. This means Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan played right here in Tacoma all summer long before heading to their global matches. 

 

Not bad for a mid-sized port city, huh?

Sure, professional soccer leagues have come and gone over the years, but Tacoma’s scene maintained a home at the Tacoma Soccer Center. This beloved indoor facility dates back to 1939, where it served as an exhibition hall, then a manufacturing site for Boeing bombers during WW2. It became a soccer facility in the 80s, and countless players have played on those synthetic turf fields since, including Tacoma Stars owner Lane Smith who went on to buy the place in 2006 when its future was unclear. 

 

Smith, then working as a sales executive at Hewlett-Packard, wrote a check to keep the lights on and his recreational league in action. “I didn’t have any business aspirations,” he says. “I just wanted to keep my Tuesday night games going.”

 

In Pierce County alone, hundreds of adults still lace up their cleats each week. Unlike many contact-heavy sports, soccer continues well beyond high school and college, with recreational leagues like the ones at Tacoma Soccer Center happening across the region. “Soccer is a life sport,” says Smith. “People are playing in their 40s, 50s, 60s…even their 70s!”

The arrival of the FIFA World Cup 2026 in the Pacific Northwest will bring six matches to Seattle in June and July, but the whole region will be pulling out all the stops in celebration. The Puyallup Tribe Fan Zone in Tacoma has been designated as an official watch location, and with the Puyallup Tribe of Indians as a major regional sponsor, there's a whole schedule of parades, celebrations, family-friendly watch events, cultural tie-ins, and more! 

 

For Smith, this moment feels full-circle. “Pierce County fans have watched our players go to the national stage before,” he says. “Now the national stage is coming here.” 

 

Ready to show your love for soccer, this summer and beyond? Here are some ideas for everyone:

 

Watch a Televised Match with Local Fans
Outside of the official Puyallup Tribe Fan Zone and Tribe-sponsored gatherings and events, there are plenty of local opportunities to catch the games! Head to Doyle’s Public House in Old Town Tacoma, which is widely known as the city’s go-to soccer bar. During major tournaments, the pub opens early (sometimes very early) to broadcast international matches, though the food at Doyle’s is reason enough to visit. 

 

 

Watch Future Soccer Stars, Live
You already know that Tacoma is fertile ground for global soccer talent. Catch Smith’s Tacoma Galaxy women's team and the Tacoma Stars at Bellarmine Memorial Stadium. They’ll be playing throughout the summer, including during FIFA games.

 

Get in the Game Yourself
Stop by the Tacoma Soccer Center, where local leagues and pickup games continue the city’s decades-running love for soccer. If you’re just passing through town and don’t have time to join a league, visit for Friday night Adult Drop-Ins, where ages 16+ can play from 9-11pm.