Seoul To Build Second-Change Stadium In The World Equipped With Hotels

Illustration Seoul, South Korea. (Wikimedia Commons/Mathew Schwartz)

JAKARTA - The Seoul City Government, South Korea plans to build a second-changed baseball stadium in the world equipped with a hotel in the southeast district of Jamsil by 2031, city officials said on Monday.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon announced the plan on Saturday last week, after visiting Canada's Rogers Center, a multipurpose stadium with an openable roof, home to Toronto Blue Jays from Major League Baseball, in Toronto.

Toronto is Oh's first destination to two countries, in addition to visiting New York, United States to attend global climate gatherings.

Under the construction project, the city plans to destroy the Jamsil Baseball Stadium after the end of the 2025 professional baseball season for the laying of the first stone in 2026 and building a stadium instead targeted for the end of 2031.

The city seeks to build a large enough stadium to accommodate more than 30,000 spectators, equipped with meeting rooms connecting the stands as well as various premium seats, including skyboxes to the family zone.

When the competition is over or there are no matches, the stadium can turn into a stage for large-scale music concerts or other public events.

In particular, the city plans to have a 300-room hotel connected to the stadium, with 120 rooms facing the arena like some rooms at the Toronto Marriott City Center Hotel linked to the Rogers Center.

The stadium, if developed as planned, will become the second sports arena in the world equipped with a hotel, Seoul City officials said.

"Conserving baseball matches is the goal, but well-built facilities, especially hotels connected to them, make the experience look like a festival," said Oh, launching the Korea Times September 18.

"We are reviewing the plan to build a stadium combined with a hotel, so that baseball matches can be enjoyed like festivals," he said.

The plan, this dome-shaped stadium project is part of a wider city plan to develop the sports complex and MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) in Jamsil District, with a budget of around 500 billion won (377.4 million US dollars) through private investment.