2024-07-09 05:24:24
Due to the construction of a dome stadium, Jamsil Main Stadium will be used as an alternative baseball stadium for the LG Twins and Doosan Bears professional baseball teams for five seasons from 2027 to 2031.
The city of Seoul announced on the 9th that it has decided to use Jamsil’s main stadium as a replacement baseball stadium for approximately 5 years while construction of Jamsil Dome Stadium is underway.
As the dome stadium is being built as part of the Jamsil Sports and MICE complex development project, the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), LG, and Doosan have been searching for an alternative baseball stadium through five rounds of integrated task force (TF) meetings, on-site inspections, and working-level consultations from October of last year to July of this year.
The integrated consultative body (TF) comprised of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, baseball (KBO, LG, Doosan), and relevant experts decided at a meeting held on the 2nd of this month to use Jamsil Main Stadium as a replacement baseball stadium for five seasons from 2027 to 2031.
As Seoul City uses Jamsil Main Stadium as a substitute baseball field, the soccer field and track will be replaced with a professional baseball field in accordance with the KBO manual. Some indoor spaces will be remodeled into baseball field dugouts (waiting areas for managers, players, coaches, etc. during games) and player support spaces.
According to the city, the cost of constructing a replacement baseball stadium is expected to be around 30 to 40 billion won. They plan to discuss conservation methods with both teams, such as adjusting the commercial advertising fees for the replacement baseball stadium.
The stadium seating will be constructed with a total of approximately 18,000 seats on the first and second floors, centered on the infield and outfield, taking into account viewing conditions such as the distance from the ground. The city explained that if spectator safety is confirmed through future monitoring, etc., the third floor seating will be opened for major games and postseason, allowing for a seating capacity of over 30,000 seats.
Kim Seung-won, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Balanced Development Headquarters, said, “Construction is underway in the surrounding area and the passageways are narrow, so it will be difficult to accommodate 30,000 people when it first opens. We are considering accepting 18,000 seats first and increasing the number of people who can be accommodated through safety management.” He added, “To be exact, it will be around 34,000 seats, but it seems that the club will set the number at around 30,000 and operate it.”
To ensure the safety of spectators at Jamsil Main Stadium, an additional eastern entrance/exit towards Baekjegobun-ro will be secured by adjusting the construction area near the north of Jamsil Sports Complex, along with the western entrance/exit towards Bongeun Bridge.
The western entrance/exit will further improve the pedestrian environment by widening the sidewalk of the connected Bongeun Bridge and renovating the nearby sidewalks and roads. The eastern entrance/exit will install a separate pedestrian passageway that is separated from the underground section of Olympic-daero and the Jamsil Sports and MICE complex development project construction area.
Jamsil Dome Stadium will open in March 2032 as a closed stadium, not a retractable stadium. Director Kim Seung-won said, “The construction cost increased by about 400 billion won by using Jamsil Dome Stadium, but it was reviewed that it would increase by 200 billion won if it were made retractable.” He added, “If the total project cost of a private project exceeds 120%, it basically needs to be reviewed again, and if that happens, the project could drift for 1-2 years, so it was agreed to build it as a dome stadium, not a retractable one, to be more realistic.”
Photo by Kim Won-geun, provided by Seoul Metropolitan Government
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2024-07-09 05:24:24