Welcome to Seattle Center
SEATTLE (September 27, 2023) – The Seattle City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to confirm Marshall Foster as the Director of Seattle Center. This follows an extensive national search and community-driven selection process.
Marshall Foster, formerly the City’s Director of the Office of the Waterfront and Civic Projects, brings decades of experience in leading complex civic partnerships and large-scale urban projects to his role as the permanent Director of Seattle Center.
Under Foster's interim leadership, Seattle Center has taken significant strides in preparing for the future, including the successful re-introduction of major festivals and events this summer, expanding Seattle Center’s operations to include the management of Waterfront Park, and key partnerships, such as the redevelopment of Memorial Stadium in collaboration with Seattle Public Schools.
The unanimous confirmation by the Seattle City Council reflects widespread confidence in Foster's leadership and his ability to navigate Seattle Center through a transformative period, including the return of Bumbershoot and the ongoing waterfront development.
What People Are Saying
Andrew J. Lewis, Councilmember, District 7; Chair of Public Assets & Homelessness Committee
“Marshall Foster is one of the most capable problem solvers in local government. There is no better candidate to navigate the Seattle Center through this exciting period of transformation with Memorial Stadium, the return of Bumbershoot, and our legacy building waterfront.”
Robert Nellams, Retired Seattle Center Director
“It does my heart good to know Mayor Harrell has selected someone who can take Seattle Center to a bigger and better place. Marshall has the vision, knowledge, leadership and passion to make Seattle Center the heartbeat of our city.”
Joy Shigaki, President & CEO, Friends of Waterfront Seattle
“Marshall is a seasoned City leader who has demonstrated his deep commitment and care for Seattle and its residents. His delivery of complex civic projects including the soon to be completed Waterfront Park highlights his passion for the city which will extend to the Seattle Center.”
About Seattle Center
Connect to the extraordinary at Seattle Center, an active civic, arts, and family gathering place in the core of our city and region. Seattle Center’s 74-acre campus, centered around the International Fountain, is part of the Uptown Arts & Cultural District and home to Climate Pledge Arena; more than 30 cultural, educational, sports, and entertainment organizations; and a broad range of public and community programs. In everything it does, Seattle Center’s mission is to create exceptional events, experiences, and environments which delight and inspire the human spirit to build stronger communities.
Seattle Center has expanded its role to provide maintenance and public safety services for Seattle’s new Waterfront Park, a series of new public spaces on Seattle’s downtown waterfront between Pioneer Square and the Seattle Aquarium. Seattle Center supports managing these new waterfront public spaces in partnership with the non-profit Friends of Waterfront Seattle, which offers the community a range of recreational and cultural programming.
Thanks to the support of Official Seattle Center Partners – Alaska Airlines, The Climate Pledge, Coors Light, Pepsi, Premera Blue Cross, Symetra, T-Mobile, and WaFd Bank – Seattle Center is the #1 arts and entertainment destination in the Pacific Northwest with 12 million annual visitors, generating $1.864 billion in business activity and more than $631 million in labor income annually.
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