Daejeon breaks ground on new baseball stadium

DAEJEON, March 22 (Yonhap) -- The central city of Daejeon, 140 kilometers south of Seoul, broke ground on a new baseball stadium Wednesday, with plans to open it in time for the start of the 2025 season.

The new venue, named Baseball Dream Park, will be the home of the Hanwha Eagles, a team in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO).

The Eagles currently play out of Hanwha Life Eagles Park, which opened in 1964 and has since undergone multiple renovations. It's the oldest stadium in the KBO and, with a capacity of 13,000, also the smallest in the 10-team league.

The city said the construction of the new stadium will cost 161.7 billion won (US$123.8 million)

The stadium will have asymmetrical outfield dimensions with varying wall heights. It will be 99 meters from home plate to the left foul pole, but 95 meters from home to the right foul pole. The right field fence will be 8 meters high, while the fence will be 2.4 meters tall in other parts of the outfield.

Baseball Dream Park will also be the first KBO stadium with a two-tiered bullpen, allowing fans to see both the home team's and the visiting team's relievers warming up.

Amenities in and around the stadium will include an infinity pool, a playground for children and interactive sports exhibits.

"Beginning in the 2025 season, Baseball Dream Park won't just be a baseball stadium," Daejeon Mayor Lee Jang-woo said. "We will build it into a national landmark, an arts, culture and leisure destination for everyone."

The groundbreaking ceremony featured retired Eagles legends Song Jin-woo, Jang Jong-hoon, Jeong Min-chul and Kim Tae-kyun, some 1,000 Eagles fans and KBO Commissioner Heo Koo-youn.

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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