Jamboree Typhoon, a direct hit to the K-League… Is Sangam Grass OK?

Construction site on the ground of Seoul World Cup Stadium on the morning of the 9th.

Construction site on the ground of Seoul World Cup Stadium on the morning of the 9th. The concert stage is being set up from the front of the S seat to the top of the penalty box.

Korean soccer, especially the K-League, where the season is underway, was directly hit by the “Jamboree Typhoon.”

The Saemangeum World Scout Jamboree was scheduled to be held in Saemangeum, Buan, Jeollabuk-do, from the 1st to the 12th. However, it became controversial due to poor operation of the competition, and participants withdrew early due to typhoon forecasts following the heat wave.

In the process, the K-pop Jamboree concert, which was originally scheduled to be held in Saemangeum on the 6th, decided to move the stage to a soccer field, which caused trouble. On the 6th, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Park Bo-kyun announced, “We decided to hold a concert at Jeonju World Cup Stadium on the 11th, the retirement ceremony.”

Immediately after the announcement, the K League 1 Jeonbuk Hyundai and Incheon United match was held at Jeonju World Cup Stadium at 7 p.m. on the same day. However, as it was announced that a concert would be held at Jeonju World Cup Stadium on the 11th, it became unclear whether the two teams would hold an FA Cup match at the same venue on the 9th. The Korea Football Association announced on the 9th that it would postpone the FA Cup match in Jeonju, and the Incheon club withdrew from Jeonju.

The problem is that the venue of the K-pop concert has been changed once again as the typhoon is predicted to move northward. Reports poured out on the 7th that the concert venue would be Seoul World Cup Stadium, not Jeonju. In the end, the FA Cup Jeonbuk-Incheon match, which was supposed to be held at Jeonju World Cup Stadium on the 9th, was finally postponed until the 8th.

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Park Bo-kyun is holding a press conference at the press center in Jamboree, Buan-gun, where the 2023 Saemangeum World Scout Jamboree is being held on the 6th.

On the afternoon of the 8th, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism officially announced that the K-pop concert will be held at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 11th. As a result, it was confirmed in the afternoon of the 8th that the K-League match between Jeonbuk and Suwon Samsung (Jeonju World Cup Stadium) on the 12th, which was inevitable to be postponed if the concert was held at Jeonju World Cup Stadium.

As such, soccer fans, related clubs, professional soccer federations, and the Korea Football Association, which were supposed to use stadiums related to concerts, had a chaotic time for three days from the 6th to the 8th.

The victims who were directly hit first were Jeonbuk and Incheon clubs. I had to be nervous while it was unclear whether the game was going on as scheduled.

Incheon canceled the accommodation and training center booked in the process of abruptly withdrawing while preparing for the FA Cup away game on the 9th, and even charged a cancellation fee. It was the same for both Jeonbuk and Incheon that the players’ condition management was twisted. Jeonbuk coach Dan Petresk, a Romanian who has a lot of experience on the European stage, vented his anger, saying, “This is the first time I’ve ever experienced this in my life.”

Jeonbuk and Incheon clubs are in a position to make sacrifices due to the government’s reckless administration, even though they have no mistakes or mistakes. The K League schedule, which is in the midst of fierce competition for rankings, has been completely pushed back by the Jamboree K Concert. K League fans felt humiliated together that soccer was ignored and vented their anger.

The next victim was the Seoul World Cup Stadium, which was confirmed as the final venue for the concert, and the FC Seoul club, which uses the stadium as its home. The Seoul World Cup Stadium has to endure fatal grass damage due to a scheduled large concert schedule at the height of the season. Soccer fans are also angry because the Seoul World Cup Stadium has a long history of rotting due to grass problems.

The photo shows Son Heung-min playing in a match against Iran in the final Asian qualifying round for the Russia World Cup at the Seoul World Cup Stadium in 2017. At that time, Ki Sung-yueng and other national team players complained about the grass in the stadium.

Whenever the national team’s official A match is held at the Seoul World Cup Stadium, the grass condition here, where dead grass is visible everywhere, has always been under fire. In 2017, criticism was so strong that national team midfielder Ki Sung-yueng said in an official interview, “I hate playing in Sangam (Seoul World Cup Stadium) because of poor grass conditions.”

It is also a problem that the “memory of nightmares” is vivid, in which the grass was frequently damaged due to large concerts, not soccer games. After spectators entered the pitch of the Seoul World Cup Stadium and watched the performance at a large concert held in the fall of 2021, they suffered long-term aftereffects from serious grass damage.

After this harsh criticism, the Seoul World Cup Stadium completely changed its grass to a hybrid over four months from October 2021 to last year. In the process of converting to hybrid grass, a budget of 1 billion won was invested. The curing process also took time and effort. Since switching to hybrid grass at this time, no large concert has been held on the ground so far.

Not only a large concert was held this time, which is feared to damage the grass, but the process was also carried out in a way that the soccer community was sacrificed after the hasty administration of the government and the Jamboree Organizing Committee. This is why soccer fans’ anger has reached its peak.

As a result of confirmation by this newspaper on the morning of the 9th, the stage installation work was in full swing in front of the S section of the Seoul World Cup Stadium. Some of the stage was installed protruding to the penalty box inside the pitch, making it inevitable to damage the grass. “We continue to seek cooperation to minimize damage to the lawn,” a Seoul Facilities Corporation official A, who asked not to be identified, said in a telephone interview with our newspaper. Above all, we will continue to discuss ways not to damage the soccer game,” he stressed.

If the grass is damaged, how and how long will it be restored. “Once the concert is over, we can know exactly (the specific details such as the size and timing of restoration),” said a B official. “If it is a small-scale damage, we can induce grass to grow next to the damaged area.” “If it’s bigger than that, cut it down to the size and insert a new lawn,” he explained. He added, “In the case of extensive damage of more than 10 to 20㎡, it should be cut off and newly planted.” 스포츠토토

The hybrid grass curing period at the Seoul World Cup Stadium is six months. This means that if you prepare from spring, you can replace it in autumn. In response, an official said, “We secure 50% of the grass reserves in the stadium every year. “We have also set up related measures in preparation for the worst case scenario,” he explained.

Construction site on the ground of Seoul World Cup Stadium on the morning of the 9th. The concert stage is being set up from the back of the goal to the top of the penalty box.

Construction site on the ground of Seoul World Cup Stadium on the morning of the 9th. The stage is being installed up to the penalty box. The Seoul Facilities Corporation plans to minimize damage by installing protective mats for now.

The Seoul Facilities Corporation has also prepared protective mats. Separate protective mats were installed at the location where the Seoul World Cup Stadium stage was installed and throughout the place where workers passed by. Field officials said, “If it is constructed on bare grass without a mat, the grass is almost damaged. “We predict that there will be parts that can be saved if the mat is laid down,” he said. “If more than 1,000 to 2,000 spectators come up (on the lawn) without a mat, of course there will be damage to the grass.” If the audience comes up on the ground, they will also put a mat on the spot. He added, “I know the performance time is about two to three hours, and if there is a mat, the damage will be small.”

Although the Seoul World Cup Stadium is fully prepared, holding a large concert is virtually an unknown fear. In addition, rain is forecast in Seoul on the 11th when the concert will be held.