“Improvements in Progress” signs along Concourse C at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) have been up for about three years, shielding travelers from the major renovation project.
But they arrived early on Thursday morning, just in time to welcome the first soccer fans to the city for locally organized World Cup matches that begin June 15 and run through July 6.
TPG joined the festivities ahead of the opening of SEA’s new Concourse C.
“SEA is one of the most space-constrained airports in the country,” said airport CEO Wendy Reiter during the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “We couldn’t get out, so we had to go upstairs. Using the same space and without losing any doors, we have created more convenience and utility for our travelers.”
The updated $399 million project offers a bright space with a 30-foot-high ceiling and expands the concourse by 145,000 square feet. There are four floors where there was once only one, about a dozen new restaurants and retail outlets (many of them local), and six retail kiosks showcasing the products of small and emerging businesses in the region.
Located between Concourses C and D and accessible to all passengers and visitor pass holders once they pass through security, the enhanced Concourse C area features several additions to the airport’s art collection, as well as a sensory room, a nursing room, meditation and prayer rooms, and a covered outdoor viewing patio, the airport’s first open-air viewing space.
In the center, a massive tree-like structure, appropriately named “C-Tree,” creates a canopy for tiered, auditorium-style bench seating, dotted with tables with electrical ports and artwork.
Alaska Airlines plans to open a huge two-story hall in Room C, but that won’t happen until 2027.
The Concourse C improvement project at SEA required dozens of pieces of equipment and hundreds of workers, including the design team from The Miller Hull Partnership and Woods Bagot and Turner Construction.
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Find more information about what the airport has in store here.
Related: How US airports are preparing for the 2026 World Cup
