adminGwangju Baseball Stadium, the home of baseball in Gwangju, is returning to the public after five years of remodeling.
According to Gwangju City and the Gwangju Baseball and Softball Association on Thursday, the Gwangju Moo-dong Stadium, which began remodeling work in April 2020, was renovated late last month.
The city of Gwangju is taking steps to hand over the stadium to the Gwangju Sports Association, which will operate it from now on, while test-running related facilities.
The city and the sports organization plan to officially reopen the stadium in the middle of this month.
As a first step, the city is discussing hosting the first game after the remodeling around the 19th.
Built in September 1965 for the 46th National Games, the stadium was named Gwangju Public Sports Complex, but was renamed Mudong Stadium in 1977 for the 58th National Games after being expanded and remodeled.
During the Gwangju Democracy Movement of May 18, 1980, more than 100 vehicles, including city buses and taxis, gathered at the main gate of the stadium to demonstrate, honking their horns and shining their headlights on Geumnam-ro. As a result, the main gate of the stadium is designated as a 5-18 historic site (No. 18).
In particular, the baseball field of Mudung Stadium, where Haetae and Kia Tigers played their home games and won their 10th championship since the inception of professional baseball, was loved by locals as a place to vent their frustrations and anger.
The stadium has produced numerous baseball stars, including Sun Dong-yeol, Lee Jong-beom, and Yang Hyun-jong, but after the opening of Gwangju Kia Champions Field in 2013, the stadium began remodeling in 2018 amid concerns about its aging facilities. Construction was delayed for two years due to issues such as COVID-19 and rising raw material prices.
Through the remodeling, which cost 48.9 billion won in national and municipal funds, the stadium was transformed into an amateur stadium by removing some of the baseball field bleachers.
A jogging track, sports park, walking paths, playgrounds, and various shelters for residents were built around the stadium, and a 1037-space parking lot was constructed.
During the remodeling process, the length of the left and right home run fences, which were criticized for being shorter than the “Baseball Rules of the Game,” was maintained at 95 meters. The center field fence is 110 meters.
The length of the left and right home run fences in professional stadiums is 97 to 98 meters, which means that competitions can be held even if the fences are small, but it may have some impact on attracting national competitions.
An official from the Gwangju Baseball and Softball Association said, “The left and right home run fences were built at 95 meters because we couldn’t change the stadium construction. It is expected to be operated by adding about 2 meters of fence depending on the game format.” “If the unrecognized stadium reopens, local baseball players will be freed from the trouble of traveling to other places to play,” he explained.토토사이트
An official from Gwangju City said, “We are going through the handover process with the Gwangju Sports Association to reopen the new baseball field around the middle of this month.” “Moo-dong Stadium will be a place where you can cry and laugh with the people of Gwangju like in the past,” he said.