City of Tacoma, WA Case Study

City of Tacoma Prepares for World Cup 2026

The City of Tacoma, home to more than 230,000 residents and the sovereign Puyallup Tribe, has long navigated the complexities of communicating across a diverse and rapidly growing population.

As a designated Fan Zone for World Cup 2026, Tacoma is preparing for an influx of visitors who will gather to participate in celebrations, public viewing events, and cultural activities throughout the city.

Tacoma’s emergency managers recognized that large crowds, high visibility events, and increased regional traffic would place greater demands on their ability to provide situational awareness, coordination, and the ability to share information in real time.

The city’s leadership agreed that preparing for World Cup 2026 required both a stronger communication infrastructure and a more inclusive approach to community alerting. This included expanding day-to-day notifications, improving transparency around message delivery, and ensuring that tribal communities were fully integrated into the communication ecosystem.

Solution

Aer evaluating its options, the City of Tacoma chose Genasys Protect, a protective communications platform that integrates multi-channel mass notification, targeted alerting, and flexible communication tools in one place. The system immediately solved the operational gaps that had created uncertainty.

Tacoma established a dedicated dynamic group for World Cup 2026 using keyword-based signups to build awareness among both residents and visitors. Dynamic groups automatically sort people into the right audience based on the information they provide, reducing manual list work. This allowed the city to expand into general updates, weather notifications, and day-to-day community messaging, which increased engagement and subscriber growth by letting residents choose the alerts they want.

Tacoma also onboarded the Puyallup Tribe for coordinated communication before and during World Cup events. This strengthened interagency alignment and ensured that tribal members, as well as Tacoma residents, would receive consistent, accurate information.

Problem

Tacoma’s previous mass notification platform presented significant operational challenges during time sensitive situations. Emergency managers were oen unable to confirm whether alerts had been successfully delivered or how many recipients had received them.

The system routinely forced users out during message sends, causing delays that created risk during critical events. Limited communication flexibility prevented the city from expanding beyond emergency alerts, which also reduced resident engagement and subscriber growth.

With the upcoming World Cup 2026, Tacoma needed a reliable, intuitive, and data-rich solution that could support emergency alerting, community communications, and day￾to-day communications.

Additionally, they needed it to allow collaborative use with the Puyallup Tribe, who’s reservation is within city limits, to ensure inclusive communication across governmental and jurisdictional boundaries.

“There hasn’t been a time where I felt like we have lacked or been missing pieces to the puzzle; it’s been consistent from customer service to the actual use of the system. The biggest thing about Genasys is that they understand the importance of emergency alerting and what it means to us in Emergency Management or Public Safety. I would recommend it to anyone.” – Tieka Adeogun, Chief Emergency Management Officer, City of Tacoma

Results

Genasys Protect has transformed how the City of Tacoma manages both emergency communications and community outreach. The platform’s ease of use and fast message delivery have increased public trust and helped the city reach more residents than ever before. Subscriber numbers continue to climb as ‘Tacoma Alert for Genasys Protect’ is promoted through accessible sign up options and community education.

As Tacoma prepares for large crowds and high profile activities, Genasys Protect provides the city with a powerful foundation for public safety, mass notification, and emergency communications. The Genasys Protect system supports daily operations while strengthening readiness for global events.

City of Tacoma: By the Numbers