KBO to file administrative suit against Changwon in dispute over stadium site

The nation’s top baseball league announced it will soon file an administrative suit against the home city of an expansion ballclub over its controversial selection of a site for a new stadium.

The Korea Baseball Organization said it has decided to take legal action after Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, earlier this month refused to disclose details behind its decision to pick a remote location to build a new ballpark for the NC Dinos.

The Dinos joined the KBO this year as the league’s ninth and newest team. They’re currently playing at a renovated Masan Stadium, which can seat up to 20,000 fans.

Under an agreement with the KBO, reached when the Dinos were approved as an expansion club, Changwon must complete a new stadium with at least 25,000 seats by 2016.

In January, Changwon, about 400 kilometers southeast of Seoul, announced that the stadium will be built on the plot previously occupied by the Army College. There were three candidate sites for the stadium and critics argue that Changwon went with the least accessible location.

In April, the KBO demanded information from Changwon about its decision, but the city refused on the grounds that under its agreement with the Dinos, it must not share that information with a third party.

The KBO said that the information may still be divulged with the Dinos’ consent. The league office also noted that Changwon had already defended its selection by claiming it had undergone “scientific and objective” research, and revealing information about the city’s research is unlikely to affect Changwon’s future plans. (Yonhap News)