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Next summer, over 750,000 visitors are expected to flood the Puget Sound region as Seattle hosts matches for the 2026 global soccer tournament. For Kitsap businesses, this isn’t just a moment—it’s a movement.Event Wrap-Up: Kickstart Kitsap – From Pop-Ups to ProfitKitsap business owners, community partners, and local leaders gathered at the KEDA Fall Forum: Kickstart Kitsap on October 30 at the Kitsap Conference Center to explore how Kitsap can prepare for the 2026 visitor wave — and turn it into long-term economic opportunity. (Scroll down for slide decks. Videos and photo gallery coming soon!)Collaboration Across KitsapThis year’s forum showcased the...

Next summer, the world’s largest sporting event is heading our way: The 2026 FIFA World Cup. With it comes significant potential to boost Kitsap tourism and small business.Slated to be held in 16 different cities across Mexico, Canada and the United States, what’s important for us here in the Pacific Northwest is that two of the host cities are Seattle and Vancouver, Canada. Experts expect around 750,000 to come to our region for the games. Seattle has meaningful matches to host in this tournament: A US game on June 19, a knockout match on July 1, and a round-of-16 match...

Next summer, over 750,000 visitors are expected to flood the Puget Sound region as Seattle hosts matches for the 2026 global soccer tournament. For Kitsap businesses, this isn’t just a moment—it’s a movement.Kickstart Kitsap: From Pop-Ups to Profit, is happening 1-5:30  October 30 at the Kitsap Conference Center, is your chance to get ahead of the curve. Whether you’re a small business owner, entrepreneur, or community leader, this forum offers actionable insights on how to harness the tourism wave and turn visibility into long-term value.  LEARN MORE ABOUT BREMERTON POP-UPSREGISTER NOW FOR LOWEST PRICE! Why This MattersSeattle’s hosting duties will bring...

KEDA's 2024 Fall Forum slide decks available:Our Fall Forum was an incredible day dedicated to celebrating and empowering small businesses in Kitsap! For those who joined us — and those who couldn’t — we’re excited to share the slide decks from the event.  VIEW PHOTO HIGHLIGHTS.   LATEST UPDATES HEREOur keynote speaker, Leo Flor, Chief Legacy Officer for Seattle’s FIFA World Cup 2026, kicked things off by energizing the crowd with a dynamic presentation. Leo dove into Seattle’s preparations and the anticipated economic impact of hosting the tournament, with an estimated 750,000 visitors flocking to the region. You can see his...

Joe Morrison, Executive Director, KEDA  Small business is big business–both in the US and in Kitsap.According to the Small Business Administration (SBA), small business employs just under half of all private sector employees in our nation (46%). In Kitsap, the number is even higher: Here small businesses employ 61% of our private sector, or about 37,000 of our 60,000 private sector workers, per census data. What a “small business” is covers a wide range of firms, from microbusinesses with five or fewer employees, to much larger firms with hundreds. Condensing SBA guidance, we can define small businesses as independently-owned companies with 500...