The baseball world is buzzing after Seoul announced plans to build a dome stadium in Jamsil.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who is on a business trip to North America, announced plans to build a dome stadium in Jamsil while visiting the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada on the 16th (local time).메이저놀이터
The plan is to demolish the existing Jamsil Stadium in Seoul and build a dome ballpark with a closed structure in its place, and it is reported that the city is considering building a dome ballpark in conjunction with a hotel.
The idea of a new Jamsil Dome is a welcome one.
Opened in 1982, Jamsil Stadium is more than 40 years old and aging. While some improvements have been made, SSG’s Shin-soo Choo, who played for decades in the U.S. Major Leagues, had some bitter words for the dilapidated Jamsil away locker room.
Moreover, the KBO has struggled to organize its schedule due to frequent rains this season, and another dome stadium after Gochuk would make the season more stable. Even during the summer rainy season, spectators will be able to watch baseball in a more comfortable environment.
The problem is the timeframe. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s plan to build a dome, the construction period is from 2026 to 2031.
In this case, the LG Twins and Doosan Bears, two “two families under one roof” teams that currently call Jamsil Stadium home, will have to find a temporary home for six seasons.
Initially, LG and Doosan proposed to remodel Seoul’s Jamsil Stadium, which is located near Jamsil Stadium, into a baseball stadium during construction, but the Seoul Metropolitan Government balked at the idea for safety reasons, forcing the team to find a temporary home in Jolji.
Alternatively, a team could share the Gocheok Sky Dome with Kiwoom, or reuse Mokdong Stadium, which Kiwoom used to play at when it was Nexen, but this is also not easy.
In particular, the facilities at Mokdong Stadium are more dilapidated than the current Jamsil Stadium, and the lighting and noise issues are not suitable for night games.
In fact, whenever Nexen has held night games in the past, there have been numerous complaints from nearby residents due to noise. If another baseball night game is held, it is expected that there will be a lot of opposition from residents.
In addition, temporary joint use of stadiums in the Seoul metropolitan area, such as KT Wiz Park and SSG Landers Field in Suwon, is also being discussed, but it is pointed out that it is not realistic for the Seoul team to play home games in a place that is almost like an away game.
The two clubs are planning to create a joint task force (TF) with the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) to deal with the situation. It will be interesting to see if they can come up with an amicable solution with Seoul.