A "Seoul sports and MICE park" consisting of MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) facilities 2.5 times the size of Coex and a 30,000-seat domed baseball stadium will be built around Jamsil Sports Complex.
The Seoul city government said on the 29th that on the 28th it signed an implementation agreement for a private investment project with "Seoul Smart MICE Park" (working title), the preferred bidder for the "Jamsil sports and MICE complex private investment project." The lead company of "Seoul Smart MICE Park" is Hanwha's construction division.
An implementation agreement is a contract in which the private project operator and the public sector agree on the project conditions. With this agreement, the project has entered full swing. The target completion is 2032.
The total project cost is 2.6955 trillion won, and it will be pursued entirely with private investment without public financial support (construction and operation subsidies), with part of the revenue to be shared with the city as recouped funds and excess profits. The Seoul city government plans to create a fund and reinvest it to promote balanced development across Seoul.
The Seoul city government expects the project's economic ripple effect to reach about 595 trillion won and create about 2.42 million jobs.
The project will bring to the Jamsil area the city's largest exhibition facility (89,000 square meters) and a convention facility (19,000 square meters), along with a 5-star hotel with 288 rooms connected to them. A domed baseball stadium to be used as the home field for the LG Twins and the Doosan Bears will also be built, along with a 4-star business hotel with 206 rooms where some rooms and lounges can overlook baseball games.
A 11,000-seat "sports complex" capable of hosting international basketball games will also be built and used as the home arena for the Samsung Thunders and the SK Knights. A 4-star residence hotel with 247 rooms connected to office facilities will also be constructed.
The commercial facilities will have a total floor area of 110,000 square meters. They will be developed as cultural and leisure spaces connecting to the Tancheon and Hangang waterfront parks. A prime office building with 31 above-ground floors and about 200,000 square meters of total floor area with river views will strengthen the functions of an international business and MICE industry hub.
A pedestrian axis connecting Coex through the Jamsil MICE district to the Hangang will be created, and spaces for everyone to enjoy—such as forest trails, Olympic Plaza, a hotel observatory, a sports complex skywalk, and waterfront fountains—will be provided.
Kang Seok, head of the Seoul metropolitan government's balanced development bureau, said, "With the signing of this implementation agreement, the project has entered the full execution phase," and added, "We will develop Jamsil into a new growth hub for Seoul where sports and MICE, culture and nature coexist, and make it the foundation of 'G3 city Seoul.'"