The first regular season game at the new home of the Hanwha Eagles, Daejeon Hanwha Life Eagles Park, recorded a sellout with 'No. 1.'
Hanwha announced that 17,000 seats filled up for the home opener against the KIA Tigers on the 28th at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark at 6:56 p.m. This marks the first sellout in the regular season at the new stadium.
The interest from baseball fans in the new Daejeon stadium was immense, to the point that even 17,000 seats felt insufficient; the surrounding area was crowded with people before the game.
As of the construction approval date on the 28th of last month, Hanwha Life Ballpark was announced to have a capacity of 27,000, including standing room. However, after Hanwha received the use rights from Daejeon on the 1st and made additional interior renovations for a comfortable viewing environment, including grass seats and an infinity pool, the capacity was reduced to 17,000.
Hanwha installed an eagle sculpture on top of the right field light tower and a flame sculpture in the center field. The interior of the various specialty seating areas, including the skybox and the outfield grass seating, has also been completed. However, the new attraction, the infinity pool area on the third base side's fourth floor, is planned to open around mid-next month after completing all administrative procedures for the safety of the users.
After the victory in the opening game, Hanwha has stumbled into a four-game losing streak, but they aim to change the atmosphere at the historic new Daejeon stadium. To commemorate the first game, Hanwha invited the four club legends whose numbers have been retired (Song Jin-woo, Jung Min-chul, Jang Jong-hoon, Kim Tae-kyun) as the first pitch guests to evoke nostalgia among the old fans.
Meanwhile, Hanwha's annual firework show event for the home opener was abruptly canceled. Considering the significant human losses caused by the worst forest fires on record in the northern Gyeongbuk region, it was decided to cancel the event due to social pain. Instead, Hanwha plans to compensate fans who visit the stadium with commemorative gifts and replace the event with a drone show after the game.
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