KBO surpasses 10 mln in attendance

Published : Sept 15, 2024 - 16:32 Updated : Sept 15, 2024 - 16:32

This file photo shows a sellout crowd of 18,700 fans watching the KT Wiz host the Doosan Bears in a Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, just south of Seoul, on Sept. 7. (Yonhap)

The top South Korean baseball league surpassed the 10-million mark in attendance Sunday, clearing yet another milestone in its record-breaking season.

The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said its 10 clubs have now combined for over 10 million fans after four games Sunday.

Prior to Sunday, the league's attendance sat at 9,943,674.

The KBO established a single-season attendance record Aug. 18 with 8,475,664 fans, eclipsing the previous mark of 8,400,688 from 2017.

Fans have kept flocking to ballparks around the country. Through Saturday, all 10 clubs were averaging at least 10,000 fans per home game, and the leaguewide average was 14,908 fans per game, which would be a new record by about 1,500.

A record six teams have exceeded 1 million fans for the season, led by the defending champions LG Twins with 1,281,420.

Before Sunday, there had been 192 sellouts, another record figure, or about 29 percent of all games. The Hanwha Eagles have sold out 43 out of their 66 home games so far at the 12,000-seat Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon, about 140 kilometers south of Seoul.

On Sunday, the Kia Tigers hosted the Kiwoom Heroes before a packed house of 20,500 fans at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, some 270 kilometers south of the capital.