Beer gardens optional? New booze law sets stage for World Cup street sipping
This story was originally published on MyNorthwest.com
Raise your glasses, Washington: the beer garden isn't dead—it's just evolving. Temporarily.
The Washington State Senate gave final approval to House Bill 1515 on Wednesday, voting 37–12 in favor of a 'modernization' of alcohol service in public spaces. It means your favorite street festivals, concerts, and civic events might start to feel a little more like New Orleans or a lively European plaza—fewer fenced-off beer pens, more stroll-friendly sips.
No, it doesn't eliminate roped-off beer gardens entirely, but it does give local governments the power to allow broader outdoor drinking zones, shared service areas between businesses, and even campus-wide booze zones at public places like Seattle Center. The beer garden just got a glow-up.
And the timing? Conveniently synced with Seattle's moment in the global spotlight: hosting games for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Coincidence? Not a chance.
The bill's expanded alcohol privileges are temporary, running only through December 31, 2027. That gives cities and event organizers a trial window to test looser, more flexible alcohol service setups—before the party officially ends.
Cities, towns, counties, and even ports can now apply to the state's Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) to allow alcohol in outdoor public areas—places where drinking is usually off-limits unless you're fenced in like a zoo animal. Now, those fences could come down, or be swapped out for less rigid barriers or simple ground markings.
Even bigger deal: the bill allows multiple bars, breweries, and restaurants to share a single alcohol service area, whether that's a street, park, or civic plaza. That means you could stroll through a designated festival zone, drink in hand, without being corralled into a tiny corner.
Local governments are still on the hook for essentials like police patrols, litter control, and signage. And businesses must follow joint operating plans, including rules for security, service limits, and underage drinking prevention. So no — this isn't some Mad Max booze free-for-all. But it is a major shift.
Beer gardens aren't going away. This bill just makes them optional instead of mandatory. Want to stick with the old fenced-in model? Go for it. Want to channel a Euro-style plaza vibe? Now you can—at least until the end of 2027.
The bill specifically gives cities with populations over 220,000 the option to use public property like parks, fairgrounds, or Seattle Center, and their perimeters for a legal drinking zone. That includes Seattle, Spokane, and Tacoma. Sorry, Vancouver—with 196,000 residents, you're not on the VIP list.
Seattle is set to host multiple World Cup matches in June and July of 2026. The legislation even carves out expanded alcohol rules for 'fan zones' and civic campuses, clearly with mega-sporting events in mind.
Cities can apply for up to 25 special events a year under the new rules, with up to seven of them allowed to be multi-day events (hello, World Cup week!).
And just to keep things fair, caterers and nonprofits can still serve alcohol at public events under special licenses, without those events counting against their existing 12-per-year limit.
The bill is now on its way to the Governor's desk. He just has to decide if it's worthy of his signature—and maybe a toast.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Miami Herald
2 hours ago
- Miami Herald
B-2 bombers have departed the US as Trump weighs Iran strike
WASHINGTON - B-2 stealth bombers have taken off from the U.S. and are headed over the Pacific, multiple news outlets reported, as President Donald Trump weighs American involvement in the war between Israel and Iran. The moves, picked up by flight tracking services on Saturday, indicate that the administration is getting the Air Force bombers in position if needed for a strike on Iran, the Wall Street Journal reported. The planes, accompanied by refueling tankers, may be on their way to a base in Guam, according to the report. Speculation about a potential U.S. strike aimed at Iran's nuclear program has focused on the B-2s, which would be needed to drop 30,000-pound bombs - so-called bunker busters - if Trump decided to target Iran's heavily fortified uranium enrichment site at Fordow. Israel, which is seeking to destroy Iran's nuclear capabilities, does not have such weapons. Multiple B-2s appeared to be airborne and heading across the Pacific from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, the New York Times reported. The Times cited flight trackers' posts on social media and air traffic control communications. The Pentagon and the White House didn't immediately return messages seeking comment. Trump's is scheduled to return to the White House Saturday and meet with his national security team. The U.S. president has sent mixed signals, discounting European efforts to secure a diplomatic solution between Israel and Iran while keeping possible US involvement in the conflict on the table. "I'm giving them a period of time," Trump told reporters Friday. "I would say two weeks would be the maximum." --- (With assistance from María Paula Mijares Torres and Akayla Gardner.) Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Miami Herald
5 hours ago
- Miami Herald
European leaders seek ‘digital sovereignty' over tech infrastructure
June 21 (UPI) -- Leaders of many European nations say they need to do more to develop technological infrastructure to ensure digital sovereignty instead of relying on services from global tech firms. A recent forum discussion on the market dominance of global corporations assessed the "blurring of the boundaries between economic and political control" among European nations by tech firms. A consensus of attendees at the ongoing Berlin Summit 2025 agreed European nations need to coordinate their efforts to develop infrastructures to "avoid path dependencies and long-term dependence on global platform players," Forum New Economy reported on Friday. "European countries are highly dependent on companies from the USA and China in a variety of technological infrastructures, from cloud services and social media to generative artificial intelligence," Forum New Economy reported. Such companies dominate European markets and are increasing their control of digital infrastructures, innovation networks, supply chains, data flows and research agendas. An example is Microsoft earlier this year suspending the business email account for International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan. The action occurred within months of the ICC issuing a warrant for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Although the tech firm suspended Khan's ICC email account, Microsoft officials said it still is providing services for the ICC. The company also announced their intent to support the digital sovereignty of European nations. "We've operated in Europe for more than 40 years, and we have been and always will be a steadfast partner to Europe," Microsoft Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella said in a social media post on Friday. Microsoft is supporting European sovereignty and that of its respective nations with several existing and new tech offerings, Nadella said. The services include Microsoft Sovereign Cloud, Data Guardian, External Key Management and Sovereign Private Cloud. The existing and new offerings "bring digital sovereignty to all European organizations" and"unlock new sovereign ways to run private sovereign clouds," Nadella said. "These new offerings build on decades of pioneering work in sovereign cloud solutions by ourselves and to our partners," he added. Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
UPI
5 hours ago
- UPI
European leaders seek 'digital sovereignty' over tech infrastructure
1 of 3 | Jensen Huang, founder and chief executive officer of NVIDIA, unveils the latest RTX 5070 laptop processors on stage during the 2025 International CES at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas on January 6. File Photo by James Atoa/UPI | License Photo June 21 (UPI) -- Leaders of many European nations say they need to do more to develop technological infrastructure to ensure digital sovereignty instead of relying on services from global tech firms. A recent forum discussion on the market dominance of global corporations assessed the "blurring of the boundaries between economic and political control" among European nations by tech firms. A consensus of attendees at the ongoing Berlin Summit 2025 agreed European nations need to coordinate their efforts to develop infrastructures to "avoid path dependencies and long-term dependence on global platform players," Forum New Economy reported on Friday. "European countries are highly dependent on companies from the USA and China in a variety of technological infrastructures, from cloud services and social media to generative artificial intelligence," Forum New Economy reported. Such companies dominate European markets and are increasing their control of digital infrastructures, innovation networks, supply chains, data flows and research agendas. An example is Microsoft earlier this year suspending the business email account for International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan. The action occurred within months of the ICC issuing a warrant for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Although the tech firm suspended Khan's ICC email account, Microsoft officials said it still is providing services for the ICC. The company also announced their intent to support the digital sovereignty of European nations. "We've operated in Europe for more than 40 years, and we have been and always will be a steadfast partner to Europe," Microsoft Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella said in a social media post on Friday. Microsoft is supporting European sovereignty and that of its respective nations with several existing and new tech offerings, Nadella said. The services include Microsoft Sovereign Cloud, Data Guardian, External Key Management and Sovereign Private Cloud. The existing and new offerings "bring digital sovereignty to all European organizations" and"unlock new sovereign ways to run private sovereign clouds," Nadella said. "These new offerings build on decades of pioneering work in sovereign cloud solutions by ourselves and to our partners," he added.
