Seoul spends only 253.27 million won on lawn maintenance…can’t even host Oct. 15 soccer A match
Democratic Satellite Gone: “Jamboree Concert is also a Problem…Seoul City Encourages 토토 Conflict”
The soccer A-match between the national teams of South Korea and Iraq will be held at Yongin Mir Stadium instead of the Seoul World Cup Stadium due to controversy over the condition of the turf, revealing that the World Cup Stadium, which earned more than 8.2 billion won ($7.2 million) this year from matches and concerts, only spent 250 million won ($253.27 million) on turf maintenance. The stadium’s management needs to be strengthened as soccer fans and singer fans clashed over the responsibility of lawn maintenance before and after IU’s concert, and Seoul will not be able to host the third Asian qualifier for the 2026 FIFA Confederations Cup North America against Iraq next month.
According to data received from the Seoul Facilities Corporation by Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Sat-gon on Aug. 26, the corporation spent a total of 253.27 million won ($253.2 million) on grass maintenance at the Seoul World Cup Stadium through the end of August. The breakdown is KRW153.46 million for newly planted grass, KRW94 million for artificial mats to protect the grass, KRW51.4 million for pesticides and fertilizers, KRW19.62 million for overseeding machines for grass seeding, and KRW8.86 million for grass waste disposal services. This is a tiny fraction of the 8.25 billion won ($8.2 million) Seoul World Cup Stadium earned from January through August of this year from soccer matches, celebrity concerts, and parking fees.
Seoul World Cup Stadium earned KRW 994.26 million from national team A matches, KRW 1,138.32 million from FC Seoul matches, KRW 2,434.47 million from cultural events such as concerts, and KRW 3,638.46 million from general events. Revenue from major cultural events was KRW 1.438 billion from the Lim Young-woong concert and KRW 975.8 million from SEVENTEEN. These figures do not include IU’s concert on September 21 and 22. The revenue from IU’s concert is expected to be at least 1 billion won. In addition to the day-use fee, World Cup stadiums receive 8% of the admission fee for soccer matches, concerts, and public events. For general events, it is 15 percent.
This year, the controversy over lawn damage grew especially as the Lim Young-woong, Seventeen, and IU concerts coincided with a “record-breaking” heat wave that broke records every day. Before and after IU’s concert, soccer fans criticized the soccer team for “damaging the grass by setting up a stage and placing chairs on the grass,” while fans of the singer responded by saying that the singer shouldn’t be held responsible for the damage.
In response to criticism of the poor condition of the turf at the World Cup stadium, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said it would “allow cultural events such as concerts to be held at the stadium from next year under the condition of ‘excluding the sale of ground seats,’” and vowed to strengthen turf management after the IU concert. However, the Korea Football Association decided to play the October 15 match against Iraq at Yongin Mir Stadium instead of the Seoul World Cup Stadium. After inspecting the condition of the World Cup stadium, the KFA said that even if the grass was repaired, it would be difficult to play the match on October 15 given the growing conditions. The poor condition of the stadium’s grass has long been a source of frustration for players.
In particular, after the team drew with Palestine in the first match of Group B of the North and Central America World Cup Third Qualifying Round on October 5, captain Son Heung-min said, “We have a lot of technical players, but we had trouble controlling the ball and dribbling. The fans must have been disappointed that we couldn’t play at a fast tempo,” and pointed out, ‘I hope we can improve when we play at home.’ In the end, it was pointed out that the Seoul Facilities Corporation, which manages the stadium, and the Seoul Metropolitan Government should strengthen the grass management to a level that can host A matches.
“The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced the exclusion of ground seats ahead of IU’s concert, making it seem as if the singer was responsible for damaging the turf, which led to conflict,” said Representative Sathee Gon. ”There were also problems with the Jamboree concert last year, so we need to take fundamental measures.”