Seoul`s Guro District Seeks to Build Domed Stadium

Seoul`s Guro Ward plans to transform a half-dome baseball stadium under construction into Korea’s first domed stadium in the wake of the country`s second-place finish in the World Baseball Classic.

A domed stadium usually costs more than 400 billion won (296.5 million U.S. dollars) to build. The half-domed stadium in the Guro neighborhood of Gocheok-dong can be transformed into a domed stadium for a maximum of 40 billion won (29.6 million dollars).

The ward has sent a letter to the Seoul Metropolitan Government asking it to change the stadium into a domed facility. The ward chief will hold talks with Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and officials of the Korean Baseball Organization and the Korea Baseball Association to ask for cooperation.

The Gocheok-dong stadium, which will replace the torn-down Dongdaemun Stadium, will have four stories above ground and one below on 20,528 square meters of land. The expected capacity is 20,000 people.

A source at Hyundai Industrial Development and Construction said, “The ballpark being built has been designed in consideration of transforming it into a domed stadium in the future. Installing a dome after construction will cost more than doing it now.”

Creating a domed stadium will also require six to 12 months longer construction time.

A Seoul city official said the city will consider the matter after listening to the opinions of the baseball community and the city government.

The southern Seoul suburb of Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, is also seeking to build a 30,000-seat domed baseball stadium, a public building and a housing-commercial complex right next to Ansan Stadium.

uni@donga.com