I almost hurt the player. What a betrayal…Cheongju City's pressure on Hanwha beyond the line, build a new baseball stadium like Jeonju

I almost hurt the player. What a betrayal…Cheongju City's pressure on Hanwha beyond the line, build a new baseball stadium like Jeonju

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Cheongju City is struggling again against Hanwha Eagles. It is showing the end of local selfishness by pressuring with remarks that go too far.바카라

According to Yonhap News, Cheongju Mayor Lee Beom-seok said on the 19th, "The city of Cheongju has spent 12 billion won over the past 10 years to improve facilities demanded by KBO and Hanwha clubs, and it is a betrayal of Cheongju fans not to allocate professional baseball games to Cheongju. Regardless of their performance, we should continue to allocate games for Cheongju fans who cheered passionately."

Using the provocative word "betrayal," Hanwha appears to be putting pressure on the team to allocate games to Cheongju. However, Hanwha, which opened its newest Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark with 20,7 seats this year, is reluctant to do so. The team must welcome as many fans as possible in the new ballpark to increase entrance income, and has to bear hundreds of millions of won in losses per game whenever it goes to Cheongju due to complicated contract issues with food and beverage stores in the new stadium.

Regardless of financial reasons, a second ball game is also needed to provide fan service and expand the base of baseball. However, Cheongju has another real problem. It is a baseball stadium. This year marks the 47th anniversary of Cheongju Stadium, which was built in May 1979. Although the stadium underwent remodeling and renovation several times, it has been a while since its outdated facilities were limited.

The Cheongju Stadium, which can accommodate up to 10,000 spectators, also has very small internal space for players. Players who have completed training often rest on buses waiting outside the stadium due to lack of resting space, regardless of whether it is home or away. The away team's dugout has low ceiling corners, which puts the risk of hitting its head. It is a problem that cannot be solved structurally due to space and design constraints.

The narrow dugout and locker room can withstand inconveniences. The biggest problem is that it is a ground that poses a high risk of injury to players and affects their performance. Players complained, "Cheongju artificial turf is hard and slippery, putting a lot of pressure on the legs. The ground is also uneven." In fact, some players couldn't play at Cheongju Stadium because they sprained their ankles by accidentally stepping on the uneven ground, and others were replaced by muscle pain due to tripping over the infield lawn. Some said, "My goal is not to get hurt when I come to Cheongju."

The Cheongju Stadium game, which has not been held for five years due to the influence of COVID-19, passed the KBO facility inspection last year with difficulty and five games were held. Prior to this, it is said that it has improved in its own way by replacing artificial turf by investing 1.9 billion won, but it is still uneasy.

During the opening match of the exhibition game on the 8th, Hanwha center fielder Esteban Floral was forced to defend on the slippery grass and almost fell. It was not a big injury, so it was a dizzying moment for Hanwha that almost ruined the year. On the same day, Moon Hyun-bin ran to first base after hitting and his hamstring came up, and the impact of the hard ground on a cold day could not be ignored.

Fans also feel uncomfortable at Cheongju Stadium. It is dangerous every time you go up and down the stairs due to narrow seating space and severe slopes. There is not enough parking space and poor food, one of the fun things to watch baseball. There is only one canteen in the stadium, and a canteen set up outside gives the impression of going back 30 years on a time machine.

Even in such a poor environment, Cheongju fans' enthusiasm for the Hanwha Eagles cannot be ignored. However, Cheongju City, which does not have a proper environment and unreasonably demands Hanwha every year, went too far. Rather than making sacrifices to the club and its players, the city should prepare accordingly.

Fans can sympathize with it by pretending to build a new baseball stadium in the country, as it will spend blind money on renovating the existing stadium, which is pointed out as a waste of taxpayers' money. Jeonju City, which aims to attract KIA Tigers' second home stadium and Futures League games, is building a new baseball stadium that is scheduled to be completed in 2026 by investing 58.5 billion won in the project cost. If Cheongju City had spent 12 billion won over 10 years on renovating the stadium, it would not be such a waste.