Kiwoom Heroes head coach Hong Won-ki has expressed his concerns about the team’s upcoming game against the Hanwha Eagles at Cheongju Stadium.
The KBO announced a change of venue for the 2024 Shinhan Bank SOL Bank KBO League on June 6. Hanwha’s decision to hold the games at its second home stadium, Cheongju Stadium, means that the venues for the three-game series against Kiwoom on August 18-20 and the three-game series against NC on August 20-22 will be moved from Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon to Cheongju Stadium in Cheongju.
Kiwoom manager Hong Won-ki, who will be playing away from home in Cheongju for the first time this year, acknowledged the need to hold the games at Cheongju Stadium to expand baseball and serve fans in the region, 안전놀이터 추천 but expressed concern for various reasons. In an interview before the game against LG on June 6, he said, “It’s a stadium that hasn’t been played in five years, and I’m a little worried about the sudden announcement. It’s an old stadium. I’m very worried about our players getting injured,” he said.
Cheongju Stadium has not hosted a KBO game since September 11, 2019, against LG Electronics. From 2020 to 2021, the stadium was closed due to the aftermath of COVID-19, and while the stadium resumed hosting games in 2022, unlike Pohang and Ulsan, Cheongju has not been able to host games due to the lack of facility improvements. This year, Cheongju wanted to host a Hanwha game, and the KBO and Hanwha conducted two rounds of due diligence, but failed to pass. Cheongju City accepted the criticisms and started to renovate the stadium, and eventually passed the final inspection and was confirmed to host the game.
“Our team has had too many injuries this year,” said Hong Won-ki.
We are very careful not to have any injuries in the future. However, we are not sure if there is really no risk of injury when we play at Cheongju Stadium. This is a concern.” In response, a KBO official said, “We conducted due diligence on Cheongju Stadium three times, and as a result, we decided that it was possible to play. The ABS (Automatic Ball Judgment System) has also been installed. We are also planning to hold two exhibition games with independent league teams and high school baseball teams before the KBO season begins.”
The tight schedule is also a problem. Kiwoom was informed of the Cheongju game only about two weeks before it was scheduled to take place. Immediately, away accommodations became an issue. There is no accommodation for the team in Cheongju. The home team, Hanwha, has priority to book the accommodation, so Kiwoom, the away team, is struggling to find a place to stay.
“If we make a mistake, we might have to travel an hour and a half from Daejeon,” says coach Hong Won-ki, who is worried. “Sejong is close enough that we can get there in about 40 minutes. “Sejong is closer, so we can get there in 40 minutes, 카지노사이트 but we won’t be able to find a place to stay,” he lamented. Kiwoom is currently looking for accommodation in Sejong City and other areas close to Cheongju Stadium, but if they can’t find accommodation, they will have to travel from Daejeon.
“Of course, it is important to show baseball to Cheongju fans,” said Hong Won-ki, “but I think we should have prepared a little better for the safety of the players and their good performance.”
