These photos, provided by the Seoul city government on March 12, 2024, show the revamped field and clubhouse at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, which will host Major League Baseball’s Seoul Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Mar. 13 (Korea Bizwire) – Gocheok Sky Dome, the venue for the upcoming Major League Baseball (MLB) season-opening series in Seoul, has undergone a substantial makeover ahead of the historic games, officials said this week.
The Seoul government said Gocheok Sky Dome, the only domed baseball park in the country, located in western Seoul, now features a new artificial grass surface covering 11,493 square meters (2.8 acres). Stadium lighting now has brighter and more energy-efficient LED lights, which have replaced dimmer metal halide lamps. In addition, 56 colored LED lamps have been installed for the occasion.
The dome will host the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres for two games, next Wednesday and then Thursday. They will be the first MLB regular-season games to be held in South Korea.
On Sunday and Monday, both clubs will play exhibition games, involving the LG Twins and the Kiwoom Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), plus the South Korean national team. All of the exhibition games will be at the dome too.
Clubhouses, dining halls and skyboxes have also been refurbished for the series.
The city government said it will also work closely with MLB, local district officials, police and firefighting authorities to ensure a safe environment for spectators.
According to Seoul, MLB will dispatch about 400 security personnel in and around the stadium — more than triple the number typically on hand for a KBO game. Seoul and local police forces will have an additional security staff of about 150.
The city government estimates 100,000 baseball fans from South Korea and around the world will visit Seoul next week.
The series will feature two homecoming South Korean stars for the Padres: infielder Kim Ha-seong and pitcher Go Woo-suk. The Dodgers will have a pair of Japanese superstars in Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Ohtani is one of four Dodgers to have won an MVP award, joined by Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Clayton Kershaw, who is rehabbing a shoulder injury and will not travel to South Korea.
(Yonhap)
