KBO signs agreements with three towns to open baseball complexes

유지호 / 2023-02-09 15:42:59

baseball-facilities

▲ This image provided by the Korea Baseball Organization on Feb. 9, 2023, shows proposed sites for facilities at the KBO Baseball Center in Boeun, North Chungcheong Province. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

▲ This image provided by the Korea Baseball Organization on Feb. 9, 2023, shows proposed sites for facilities at the KBO Baseball Center in Hoengseong, Gangwon Province. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

▲ This image provided by the Korea Baseball Organization on Feb. 9, 2023, shows proposed sites for facilities at the KBO Baseball Center in Gijang County, Busan. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

baseball-facilities

KBO signs agreements with three towns to open baseball complexes

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Feb. 9 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean professional baseball league reached an agreement with three towns on Thursday to build baseball complexes to help grow the game at the grassroots level.

The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) has selected Gijang County in Busan, some 325 kilometers southeast of Seoul, Hoengseong, Gangwon Province, about 140 kilometers east of the capital, and Boeun, North Chungcheong Province, 180 kilometers south of Seoul, as sites for the KBO Baseball Center.

The KBO will build baseball diamonds, indoor practice facilities and other baseball-related infrastructure in the three towns.

The KBO plans to run youth baseball camps there and also operate instructional courses for coaches and umpires. Research work on biomechanics and data analysis through digital-based training will also take place at the KBO Baseball Centers.

The KBO said it hopes the new facilities will expand the grassroots base of baseball while also providing training sites for professional and amateur teams.

KBO Commissioner Heo Koo-youn has long been a proponent of growing the game across the nation. Busan is home of the Lotte Giants, one of the few remaining original KBO clubs, while neither Gangwon nor North Chungcheong has a KBO franchise.

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