Governor Kim Gives the Green Light for Construction of the Korea’s Biggest Baseball Theme Park!
(Published February 04, 2013)

Gyeonggi Government and Dongducheon-si sign an MOU for Soyosan Park Chan-ho Baseball Park

◇ At 10:20 AM on the 4th of this month, Mayor of Dongducheon Oh Se-chang, Gyeonggi Provincial Governor Kim Moon-soo, retired professional baseball player Park Chan-ho, and Park Mun-chang, the chairman of Soyosan Baseball Park Co., Ltd, signed an MOU for the Soyosan Park Chan-ho Baseball Park at the situation room of the Gyeonggi Province Government building. (From left) ⓒ G-News Plus / Yu Je-hun
 
Korea’s first and largest baseball park to be built in Dongducheon-si, Gyeonggi Province!
 
Mayor of Dongducheon Oh Se-chang, Gyeonggi Provincial Governor Kim Moon-soo, retired professional baseball player Park Chan-ho, and Park Mun-chang, the chairman of Soyosan Baseball Park Co., Ltd., signed an MOU for the Soyosan Park Chan-ho Baseball Park at the situation room of the Gyeonggi Province Government building, among a few other officials.
 
The ceremony began with a business briefing given by Chairman Park Mun-chang, followed by the signing of the MOU.
 
The baseball park will be built at San 6, Sangbongam-dong near Soyosan Station in Dongducheon-si, Gyeonggi-do. The site covers 333,000m², by far the largest of any baseball complex in the country.
 
The new baseball park’s facilities will include a main stadium with seating for up to 2,000 people, six regular baseball fields, fifty-meter-long batting cages with fifty stations, indoor baseball practice facilities, a dormitory, a sports brand outlet, and much more. Once the complex is complete, it will be open 365 days a year to baseball clubs, baseball fans, and the general public.
 
The Soyosan Park Chan-ho Baseball Park will be designed as a sports culture theme park – something Park Chan-ho has dreamed of since his days in the major league. When he retired on November 29 last year, he planned a project with Chairman Park Mun-chang, whom he met in the United States, establishing a corporation in September 2012, and utilizing a business lot then in the chairman’s possession.
 
The project has been in full swing since last October, and will be complete by April 2014. Entirely funded by private investments, Dongducheon-si and Gyeonggi Province promised to support the project by adjusting city development plans and assisting with the complicated administrative processes involved.
 
On the day of signing the MOU, Dongducheon-si agreed to modify the city’s basic management policies. Soyosan Baseball Park Co., Ltd. will be in charge of the investment funds and execution. Former baseball star Park Chan-ho will allow the use of his name, portrait rights, and purchase stocks to support the project. The Dongducheon-si City Planning Modification Request was handed in on the 8th of this month.
 ◇ Aerial view of the Park Chan-ho Baseball Park ⓒ G-News Plus
 
A congratulatory letter from US Congressman Ed Royoe, an acquaintance of Park Chan-ho from his time in California, was read out during the business briefing. The letter said, “Congratulations on the construction of the baseball theme park in Gyeonggi Province. I hope it helps strengthen the cultural ties between our countries.”
 
Governor Kim Moon-soo said in his speech that, “It is wonderful news that a great Korean athlete has decided to build the nation’s largest baseball park in Dongducheon, perhaps one of the least developed, highly controlled locations in Gyeonggi Province. Soyosan Park Chan-ho Baseball Park will anchor the development of the area and promote baseball in the province.
 
Governor Kim also said, “We have been experiencing a baseball boom since we got the approval to base the 10th Baseball Club in our district. I hope the sport’s popularity spreads in Dongducheon, and in all of Gyeonggi Province. We will do our very best to help the project proceed smoothly.”

Park Chan-ho, former baseball player, said, “While I was in the United States I thought long and hard about what I could do to promote baseball in Korea. I feel this project will enable me to participate in the establishment of an infrastructure that will boost the sport in Korea. Once the baseball park is complete, I would like to coach young baseball enthusiasts and help train children from low-income families.”

Oh Se-chang, the Mayor of Dongducheon, said, “Once the baseball park is complete, it will attract one million visitors per year including baseball players and their families. It will have a profound effect on Dongducheon’s economy. I would like to thank Gyeonggi Province, Park Chan-ho, and everyone else who is involved in this project.”

Former baseball star Park Chan-ho was the first Korean pitcher to be recruited in major league baseball. Following his debut with LA Dodgers in 1994, he achieved 124 wins in the course of 17 seasons, setting a world record for an Asian player.

Park returned to his home team Hanwha Eagles last year, where he remained until his retirement on November 29, 2012. Park is now working on a number of baseball-related projects.◇ Mayor of Dongducheon Oh Se-chang, Gyeonggi Provincial Governor Kim Moon-soo, retired professional baseball player Park Chan-ho, and Park Mun-chang, the chairman of Soyosan Baseball Park Co., Ltd pose together for a souvenir photo shoot. ⓒ G-News Plus / Yu Je-hun

ⓒ G-News Plus | Im Se-jin yh48635@nate.com

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