The ‘e-sports stadium’ business is taking off… Gyeonggi-do-Conjinwon candidate site search < Local administration < Politics < Text of article - Joongbu Ilbo

It is expected that the ‘e-sports stadium establishment project’ in Gyeonggi Province, which was stranded, will resume.

This is because the province is discussing with the Gyeonggi Content Agency this year to build a stadium, and the Gyeonggi Provincial Party of the Democratic Party of Korea also made it a pledge for the 22nd general election.

According to Joongbu Ilbo’s coverage on the 25th, the provincial government and the Promotion Agency are discussing the construction of an e-sports stadium.

Previously, in 2019, the province planned and proposed a construction project for the province’s first e-sports-specific stadium.

At the time, Seongnam, Yongin, Bucheon, and Ansan applied, but Seongnam City, which is considered the center of the game industry, was selected.

The province and Seongnam City planned to invest a total of 39.3 billion won to proceed with the project with the goal of opening this year, but the project cost increased by about 13.5 billion won due to inflation during the design process, causing a setback.

Finally, in January of last year, Seongnam City announced the cancellation of the project due to increased financial burden and low profitability, and closed the dodo project in July of the same year.

In this situation, a green light has been given to the project to establish an e-sports stadium in the province, which was predicted to be unfinished for the time being.

This is because the Provincial Promotion Agency has recently been looking for a candidate site to build the province’s first e-sports stadium.

Currently, rather than constructing new buildings, the province plans to remodel public facilities in cities and counties and aging performance halls at universities and use them as stadiums.

The province’s explanation is that rather than a dedicated facility for e-sports, the goal is to increase operating rates by having a multi-purpose facility that can host a variety of events.

In addition, accessibility, city/county finances, and regional characteristics are also subject to review.

The Democratic Party of Korea also proposed ‘remodeling of the Gyeonggi e-sports stadium’, which is in line with the provincial government’s nine major pledges in the general election, and the establishment of a provincial e-sports stadium is receiving support.

The Democratic Party’s position is that ‘Suwon Convention Center’ and ‘Goyang KINTEX’ are suitable as e-sports stadiums, considering the size and accessibility of the facilities.

Full-scale efforts to establish an e-sports stadium in the province are expected to begin in the second half of this year.

The provincial and provincial parties plan to discuss ways to promote their common pledges for the general election, including this plan, through the ‘Party-Government Council.’

A provincial official said, “In order to reduce the budget burden on the province, city, and county, we are discussing creating a stadium through remodeling rather than building a new building. Considering accessibility and balanced regional development, we are looking at it without dividing into the north and south.”

Reporter Lee Myung-ho