Seoul's new domed stadium will let fans watch games from hotel rooms

Social Affairs

Published: 18 Sep. 2023, 14:49 Updated: 18 Sep. 2023, 19:55

Seoul's new domed stadium will let fans watch games from hotel rooms

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, left, learns about the Rogers Centre in Toronto from Anuk Karunaratne, the executive vice president for business operations for the Toronto Blue Jays, at a private box on Saturday. [SEOUL METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT]

TORONTO — Baseball fans in Seoul will soon be able to watch games from their hotel rooms at a domed baseball stadium.

A consortium led by Hanwha will begin work on a new stadium as early as 2027, with completion scheduled for 2031. The development of a domed baseball stadium is a part of the capital's Jamsil Sports MICE Complex project.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said it has finished deciding the locations of facilities within the complex and is now designing them.

The city government’s Jamsil Sports MICE Complex includes redeveloping Jamsil Sports Complex in Songpa District, southern Seoul, and making the neighboring area a hub for MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) industries.

The domed baseball stadium in Jamsil, southern Seoul, will hold around 30,000 seats and have a long, circular concourse to allow fans to move around more conveniently.

The city will connect the stadium to a hotel with around 300 rooms, 120 of which will have outfield views.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon on Saturday revealed the city's plan during his visit to the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

The Rogers Centre is the home stadium of the Toronto Blue Jays, the team of Korean pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin.

“It feels like a festival here due to the well-developed facilities,” said Oh, adding that the hotel right next to the stadium allows fans to more fully enjoy the games.

“This is why we are considering building a facility that connects the domed stadium to a hotel.”

A rendered image of a domed baseball stadium expected to be built by 2031 in Jamsil, Songpa District, southern Seoul [SEOUL METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT]

The Toronto Marriott City Centre Hotel next to Rogers Centre has around 400 rooms, 75 of which have an outfield view. From these rooms, people are able to watch teams play through the wide windows in each room.

These rooms normally cost around $300 a night, surging as high as $2,000 during peak seasons. On average, around 37,000 of the stadium’s 40,000 seats are filled with fans each game.

Blue Jay's executive vice president Anuk Karunaratne advised Oh that the keys to a domed stadium are “different experiences for different interests” and “flexibility.”

The retractable dome of Toronto's stadium can be opened and closed depending on weather conditions.

It also hosts different events such as concerts by installing temporary floors on the grass.

Unlike the Rogers Centre, however, Seoul's new stadium will lack a retractable dome due to costs.

The city expects to spend around 500 billion won ($37 million) on the new stadium, the ground on which will be broken in 2027 following Jamsil Olympic Stadium's renovation.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]