Seattle police now have a potential staging space inside the Seattle Convention Center, where a new 1,800-square-foot facility opened Thursday at 810 Pike St., near Ninth Avenue. Assistant Chief Robert Brown said the department plans to stage officers in the space, called C-Star, during major incidents. The department is also considering nighttime bike patrols in the surrounding West Precinct, whose station is about four blocks north. The convention center says it has no formal agreement with Seattle police governing the department’s use of C-Star. The department does not have access to the center’s surveillance cameras, according to the center’s communications director, Loni Syltebo. Seattle police did not provide further details about the facility’s use. The center’s vice president of event operations, Krista Daniel, said police began helping design the space last June, while it was still an empty retail unit. The department requested features for emergency-response work, including a soundproofed room and chairs without armrests to accommodate officers wearing bulky gear. C-Star is designed to serve more than police. Convention center executives envisioned a place where event organizers could discuss security plans and visitors could get help or directions. Center officials also expect police, Downtown Seattle Association ambassadors and members of the city’s Community Assisted Response and Engagement team to use it for coordination, paperwork and breaks. During a major emergency, city agencies could use its largest conference room as a command center. The convention center’s board unanimously approved the project Jan. 27. A construction plan estimated costs of up to $900,000 and anticipated an opening by June 1; the center held a soft opening in June. Executive Director of Emergency Management Jesse Anderson said that soft opening was not tied to Seattle’s FIFA Men’s World Cup games, which began June 15. The center’s security needs grew after its Summit facility opened in 2023, increasing foot traffic across the campus, Anderson said. The convention center already employs a security team that patrols around the clock and has a long history of working with Seattle police. C-Star’s main entrance faces Pike Street, while a side entrance on Ninth Avenue connects through a parking garage to the facility’s rear entrance. When the space was observed Friday afternoon, no police officers were inside. “We’re just waiting to see how this evolves,” Anderson said.