Seoul City announced plans to build a new Jamsil Dome Stadium. However,스포츠토토 the two teams currently operating professional baseball teams based in Seoul are facing difficulties.
On the 18th, the city of Seoul announced plans to build Jamsil Dome Stadium (tentative name). The goal is to demolish the baseball field in the current sports complex located in Jamsil-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, and build a new, closed dome stadium in its place. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the stadium will be built with more than 30,000 seats capable of hosting international games, and auxiliary facilities such as hotels and restaurants will be provided. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon recently visited and inspected the Rogers Center, the home stadium of the Toronto Blue Jays, a major league baseball team located in Toronto, Canada. The current sports complex site, including the convention center, will be reborn as a cultural complex, with a new dome stadium at its center.
The estimated construction period is from January 2027 to the end of 2031. However, in order for the construction to proceed smoothly, the LG Twins and Doosan Bears, who are currently using the Sports Complex baseball stadium as their home stadium, must vacate the stadium starting from the 2026 season. The two teams were in a situation where they had to play their games at a location other than Jamsil Baseball Stadium for a total of six seasons from the 2016 season to the 2031 season.
Six years is an incredibly long time for a professional team to operate, and for a baseball team that actually has three seasons: spring, summer, and fall. This is a period in which the overall direction and framework of the club’s operation can change several times. However, in the reality of having to use a rented stadium, moving is an inevitable fate.
It is known that Seoul City, KBO, LG, and Doosan have been discussing relocating to a new stadium and using a temporary stadium. The clubs hope to remodel Jamsil Main Stadium, located right next to the baseball stadium, and use it as a temporary stadium, but the Seoul Metropolitan Government is expressing difficulty due to spectator safety issues while construction is underway on the entire stadium. Therefore, LG and Doosan are considering a plan to temporarily use other stadiums located in the metropolitan area, such as Gocheok Sky Dome, Mokdong Baseball Stadium, Suwon KT Wiz Park, and Incheon SSG Landers Field.
However, all currently emerging alternatives are bound to encounter practical problems. Gocheok Dome is already leased and used by Kiwoom Heroes. Realistically, it appears that only one of the two teams, LG and Doosan, will be able to use it additionally. Then, another team has to find another stadium, but Mokdong Stadium has very poor facilities and stadium environment. Currently, it is only used as an amateur-only stadium, which was its original purpose, and is not suitable for night games due to noise issues, which were a problem in the past when the Heroes used it as their home stadium. Considering the extent of its deterioration, it would have to undergo extensive remodeling before it could be used by a professional team. Suwon and Incheon stadiums can also be used, but for the LG and Doosan teams, which are currently based in Seoul, going far away from home can be a burden, no matter how close it is to the metropolitan area.
Unless you are a very passionate fan, it is not realistically easy to frequently visit areas far away from your current residence. Moreover, 6 years is a very long time. Except for passionate loyal fans, there may be cracks in the existing fan base itself.
We cannot help but take into account the profit issue. The current annual budget and income of the two teams that share Jamsil Stadium are calculated in line with the past averages of their home stadiums. If a stadium that is smaller than Jamsil or has to be moved far away is used temporarily, profits will naturally decrease significantly. Losses per year can be at least several billion won or well over 10 billion won. If this is converted into six-year cumulative value, the loss becomes enormous.
However, this does not mean that there is an alternative to these stadiums. Gocheok Dome has the stigma of being a ‘half-dome stadium,’ and there are zero other stadiums in Seoul where professional baseball teams can play. KBO, LG, and Doosan say they will continue discussions with the Seoul Metropolitan Government. Remodeling the Jamsil Main Stadium is the most ideal solution, but will it be possible to find a solution to the safety issues that are being pointed out as a negative factor? Additionally, we need to find agreement on the level at which remodeling is possible. It’s still a long way into the future, but the future is still close.
