SEATTLE — Soccer fans descended on Seattle’s waterfront well before kickoff Friday, staking out their spots early to watch a highly anticipated World Cup matchup at Seattle Stadium between the United States and Australia. That patience paid off as Team USA won the match and now advances to the knockout round.

The atmosphere at Pier 62 was electric from the start, with fans lining up for prime viewing positions, whether down on the water’s edge or taking in the sweeping scene from the waterfront overlook above.

“I mean, look at all these people that are here hours beforehand to celebrate this incredible game,” said Paul Hanson, who was rooting for Team USA. “The hairs are going up on the arm.”

The energy was a draw in itself.

“The energy is amazing, everyone’s in a great mood, it’s just a lot of fun to be down here,” Maggie McNeil said.

Not everyone in the crowd was wearing red, white, and blue.

Lizzie Manning hails from Melbourne, Australia, and is now living in the Pacific Northwest.

Manning told KOMO News she hasn’t been back home in nearly a decade, but taking in the U.S.A-Australia match with the waterfront crowd gave her a taste of it.

“Whenever I see another Australian I’m like, ‘Aussie Aussie Aussie, oy oy oy,’” she said. “I feel so close to home. I need a meat pie, life’s good.”

“I’ve met so many people who are visiting from other countries,” Seattle resident Maddie Chaplain said. “I sat next to a couple yesterday who was eating dumplings for the first time from Argentina, that was so awesome.”

With Team USA advancing, fans like Aaron Olson say they’ll be back for more.

“USA’s gonna win it,” Olson said. “I will come down here every game. This is spectacular.”

The World Cup watch parties continue on Pier 62 throughout the tournament. They are free and open to the public with online registration, but capacity is limited.

CORONADO, Calif. (KGTV) – Everyone from NASCAR officials to the drivers to those who serve on Naval Base Coronado is beaming with excitement, waiting to kick the tires and light the fires this race weekend for NASCAR San Diego Weekend.
 
“Fans can expect one incredible time. History is being made this weekend,” Matt Humphrey, Sr. Director of Track Communications for NASCAR, said.

The racing track is up at Naval Base Coronado.

“It’s been amazing from seeing the bones of the track going up to driving the track, going to work in the morning. It’s incredible,” Seaman Naylei Fausto of the U.S. Navy said,

And now it’s time to race. 

The NASCAR San Diego weekend is officially underway, with the first event held at an active military base. 

“They’re going to be able to see a lot of what NASCAR is about with all the different fan displays, the kids’ zone, all the different activations from our partners around, but most importantly, they’re going to see the United States Navy showcased in the best form possible,” Humphrey said.

One of those sailors, Seaman Fausto, who is a lifelong NASCAR fan, never thought she’d see her station transformed into a NASCAR track, let alone any base. 

“Joining the Navy, I thought I was going to be out taking pictures and doing Navy-related things, and now I get to work with NASCAR, which is just amazing and it’s fulfilling my inner child,” Fausto said.

Those behind the wheel say that, in their experience, there’s nothing like this event. 

“It’s definitely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I think we’ve had some opportunities. We did the street course in Chicago for the last couple of years,” Cody Ware, NASCAR Driver, said. “But to show up here, getting the opportunity to race on an active military base just for the US Navy and NASCAR to be able to work together to put the show on is really incredible.” 

There will be a Truck Series race starting at 4 p.m. on Thursday. On Saturday, that’s when the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts race will be happening. That begins at 2 p.m. This is the second tier of NASCAR races where drivers hone their skills, looking to get into the top level of the NASCAR circuit. Sunday is the main race with the NASCAR Cup Series happening at 1 p.m.

While it’s incredible to host NASCAR at the naval base, NASCAR officials hope people plan ahead to avoid the painful process of getting to the track. 

“But if you do not have that government-issued photo ID or passport, you’ll be turned away. So very important that you bring that. But then bring your patients, come early,” Humphrey said. “If you think it’s going to take a half hour to get here, add an extra 30 to 40 to even 60 minutes on top of that; just to give yourself enough time to get over the bridge to make sure you get through the gates, get through security.” 

Humphrey added that NASCAR is working together with local, state and federal agencies to make sure traffic is moving smoothly, and everyone is getting into the race and having fun.

The Alaska Senate plans to vote today on a new draft of a bill that would reduce taxes on the Alaska LNG project. It’s the last day of a special session Gov. Mike Dunleavy called to consider the issue.

Dunleavy and pipeline developer Glenfarne, which owns a 75% stake in the project, say a measure replacing a 2% annual property tax with a much smaller tax on gas throughput is essential to allowing the project to attract investors and court lenders. Dunleavy and Glenfarne applauded the version of the bill that passed the House a week ago.

The Alaska LNG project, estimated by the developer to cost up to $54.5 billion, includes an 807-mile pipeline, a conditioning facility on the North Slope to remove gas impurities such as carbon dioxide, and a liquefaction plant on the shores of Cook Inlet to export the gas to Asia. The project would be split into two phases: first, a shorter in-state pipeline to provide gas to Alaskans, and then the much more expensive — and much more lucrative — export infrastructure.

The Senate’s new draft retains many of the House’s provisions with some important changes.

Perhaps the most significant changes are to the project’s timeline: to be eligible for tax relief, the developer must commit to a final investment decision for the first phase by Jan. 1, 2028, and construction of the in-state pipeline would need to be complete by the end of 2032.

The House’s version required only that construction begin by Jan. 1, 2032.

The faster timeline is an effort to address Southcentral’s looming shortage of natural gas, said Sen. Bert Stedman, a Sitka Republican and a co-chair of the Senate Finance Committee. The Department of Natural Resources’ production forecast envisions demand outstripping Cook Inlet gas production by 2032, requiring producers to dip into storage.

“There’s been a lot of concern out of the Railbelt with the declining volume in Cook Inlet,” Stedman said.

But the more aggressive timeline sparked concerns from minority Republicans on the committee; it increases the risk on an already risky, marginal project, they said.

“That’s very damaging,” said Sen. Mike Cronk, a Tok Republican and the Senate minority leader. “There’s so many factors that we don’t control.”

Putting a “hard construction date” in the bill may be a “poison pill,” Cronk said.

Glenfarne and Gov. Mike Dunleavy did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the new version of the bill.

Stedman suggested future legislatures could revise the date to account for “unforeseen black swan events.”

“We can change these and modify these going forward,” Stedman said. “This is not in the Constitution, so I think there’d be some consideration under good faith trying to get the project constructed.”

The tax rate at the heart of the bill — the so-called alternative volumetric tax on gas flowing through the pipeline from the North Slope to Southcentral Alaska — would be fixed, rather than a weighted average tied to the cost of each component of the project.

The Senate draft sets the tax initially at 6.2 cents per 1,000 cubic feet of gas throughput, starting five years after gas begins to flow through the pipeline. The tax would take effect sooner if throughput reaches 500 million cubic feet per day, which is more than double what Southcentral Alaska uses now.

The tax would rise to 10.6 cents per 1,000 cubic feet once Phase 2 of the project, which includes the liquefied natural gas export facility, is up and running. The tax revenue from that mirrors what the Department of Revenue estimates the weighted tax that passed the House would yield.

The rates would rise between 1% and 3% each year, depending on inflation.

The House backed 30-plus years of tax breaks. Some senators were skeptical of that, so their version doubles the tax rate ten years after exports begin, then doubles them again in 2060.

The new bill retains key conditions for the tax relief included in the House’s version: the developer must commit to building a spur line to Fairbanks and negotiate project labor agreements with unions. It also includes up to $80 million in community impact funding for municipalities: $40 million due shortly after the final investment decision for each project phase.

It also includes House-passed price controls on in-state gas. Utilities would pay no more than $16 per million British thermal units, adjusted for inflation. That’s roughly $16.60 per 1,000 cubic feet, substantially higher than current Southcentral gas rates — about $10 — but likely cheaper than imported gas, according to Southcentral’s gas utility.

Also notable is an omission from the bill. It does not include a measure that had been under discussion that would subject large so-called S corporations and other pass-through entities in the oil and gas business, like LLCs, to the state’s corporate income tax.

Glenfarne, in its only comments so far on the new bill, urged lawmakers not to include that tax in the final version.

“If the Senate passes a bill with the proposed S Corp tax, it will introduce major hurdles for Alaska LNG to secure the right financing to build the project,” the company said in a statement provided by spokesperson Tim Fitzpatrick.

Senators are due to amend the bill and take a final vote later today.

The special session expires at midnight tonight, but Gov. Mike Dunleavy has already signed a proclamation calling another special session to begin Saturday.

Asked whether the new special session represented a contingency plan in an event the bill failed to pass, Dunleavy spokesperson Jeff Turner declined to say.

“We will see what happens,” Turner said.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.