What a month! We celebrated Pride Month, as part of our year-long commitment to Stand for LGBTQ+ Equality, alongside our Seattle pro sports community and partners at the WIAA and Intentionalist. We celebrated Juneteenth with our partners at the Northwest African American Museum, breaking ground on two new RAVE Foundation fields at the NewHolly community as part of the festivities. We also paid tribute to the 50th anniversary of Title IX and celebrated a successful World Cup 2026 bid.
RECEIPT & RECEIVE IN SUPPORT OF LGBTQ+-OWNED BUSINESSES
To celebrate Pride Month, Seattle Sounders FC, Intentionalist and the entire Seattle pro sports community teamed up to promote and encourage the community to visit and buy from local LGBTQ-owned small businesses. During June, fans uploaded their receipts from LGBTQ+-owned small businesses for the chance to win Sounders tickets and other fun prizes.
Throughout June, $24,431 was spent at LGBTQ+-owned small businesses, surpassing the $20,000 goal!
SEATTLE PRIDE PARADE RETURNS
After a two-year hiatus, the Seattle Pride Parade made a triumphant return! We were proud to show our Seattle Sports Pride at the parade on June 26, marching alongside OL Reign and our pro sports community, as well as WIAA athletes, coaches and those who have been positively impacted by the Gender Diverse Youth Sports Inclusivity Toolkit.
PROGRESS PRIDE FLAG RAISING
On Friday, June 24, we raised the Progress Pride Flag will be raised at Lumen Field, in honor of Pride Month! Stefan Cleveland and Kelyn Rowe joined three OL Reign players, Billie Avery, Co-chair of Starbucks Pride Network and Nor Luloff, a gender diverse soccer player from Washington Middle School for the honor. The flag flew high above Lumen Field during our Pride Match, and continued flying through OL Reign’s Pride Match on July 1.
A JUNETEENTH TO REMEMBER
Alongside RAVE Foundation, we collaborated with Northwest African American Museum on Juneteenth Week activities, including virtual and in-person events from June 12 - June 19.
JUNETEENTH INTERACTIVE STORYTIME: The week kicked off with NAAM’s June Interactive Storytime, celebrating and honoring Juneteenth - Black Liberation. Audience members enjoyed a reading of All Different Now by Angela Johnson, hosted by our own Steve Zakuani. The program also featured an interactive art activity with local artist, Jeremy Bell.
JUNETEENTH ON MATCHDAY: We celebrated Juneteenth at Lumen Field, as the team took on LAFC! The match featured a pre-match Goals for Art exhibit from artist Jeremy Bell and local youth, presented by WaFd, as well as an interactive art exhibit where fans could express what We the People meant to them. Fans also enjoyed a performance of Lift Every Voice and Sing from NAAM's ACE Choir.. On-field, players wore Unity pre-match tops from adidas and match jerseys featuring special Juneteenth numbers, designed by Black and LGBTQ+ artist Judah Middleton. Match-worn jerseys were auctioned off to support RAVE Foundation's work in Black communities.
JUNETEENTH DAY CELEBRATION: Cultures United joined NAAM at Judkins Park for a celebration with local Black-owned food trucks, roller skating, live music and family-friendly activities, providing free soccer programming for youth!
FIELDS FOR NEWHOLLY
On June 15, as part of NAAM's Juneteenth Week, we celebrated the groundbreaking of two new turf fields at NewHolly's Central Park! RAVE Foundation hosted a ceremonial groundbreaking, featuring an in-person Goals for Art youth program with Jeremy Bell and Books & Balls giveaway, in partnership with NAAM. There was also a soccer clinic, live music and BIPOC and diverse-owned food trucks. We can't wait to continue our investment in the NewHolly community!
50TH ANNIVERSARY OF TITLE IX
June 23rd marked the 50th anniversary of Title IX. We were honored to commemorate the occasion with the Seattle Sports Commission, female legends from Washington soccer history, girls youth club partners and our fellow Seattle pro sports teams. We continue to defend the right to play for all.
