Considering that the city funds and manages Seattle Center like a city park, then a park's rules for free speech ought to apply there, too. The 9th Circuit appeals court agrees:

Seattle Center rules aimed at addressing complaints about street performers making too much noise, blocking access or aggressively seeking donations are unconstitutional, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.

The 8-3 decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reverses an earlier ruling by a three-judge panel of the same court.

The original lawsuit was brought by Michael Berger - known as Magic Mike - a magician who performed at the downtown center. He sued the city and Seattle Center in 2003. Berger objected to regulations issued in 2002 that required street performers to obtain a permit, to wear a badge displaying the permit, to not aggressively seek donations, to limit performances to 16 designated locations and to not engage in "speech activities" within 30 feet of most visitors to Seattle Center.

Next someone ought to challenge the backward rules for holding protests and rallies there. Right now, a big free-speech event like gay pride is required to hire the Seattle Center staff and pay tens of thousands in fees to use the space. That, in part, is how Seattle Out and Proud got into about $90,000 of debt holding the pride festival there in 2006 (now a company holds the festival while SOaP only runs the parade). But those regulatory fees don't apply to gay pride or Hempfest in city parks; they shouldn't apply in Seattle Center—an underused concrete tundra that's empty most of the year—either.