Changwon to get Korea`s 9th pro baseball team

“NC Soft and the city of Changwon will be new models for pro baseball teams,” MBC sports commentator Heo Gu-yeon said Friday.

Heo has helped the foundation of the ninth Korean pro baseball team behind the scenes. As chairman of a baseball development committee at the Korea Baseball Organization, Heo has traveled across the country in his spare time since March last year to persuade companies and municipal and provincial governments to set up the league`s ninth team.

As a result, four entities including a company in Busan, the home of the Lotte Giants, expressed intent to set up a team.

Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, won the right to host the new team. Changwon Mayor Park Wan-soo has suggested building a new ballpark and giving rights for naming, operation and advertising for up to 25 years.

He also promised to build a combined 11 baseball stadiums including one for reserve players and another for amateurs.

beetlez@donga.com