Populous wins baseball design competition in South Korea

Global specialist architects, Populous have won a major baseball design competition in South Korea -the design of upcoming NC Dinos Baseball Park in Changwon City, near Busan, in the South of the country.

The 22,000 seat NC Dinos Baseball Park has a construction value of USD $100M. A key feature of the Populous design is the roof top gardens stretching the length of the building area, which take their inspiration from the design of the High Line in Manhattan, a park built on an elevated section of a disused New York Central Railroad.

Populous senior principal Andrew James said the project is the first true baseball ballpark for families and fans in South Korea and the design has built on the firm’s extensive experience with MLB in the United States, particularly Petco Park in San Diego and Target Field in Minneapolis.

“It’s a major breakthrough for sport and entertainment in Korea, because the stadium  is designed with post match legacy in mind, to be busy and active all year round, not just on game day.

“It is the first baseball stadium in South Korea to have 360 open views to the field and circulation around the whole stadium. The fixed seating of the infield is complimented by the casual seating areas around the outfield, with grass berms and timber terraces, to create a flexible, relaxed space for families and fans,“ he said.

The NC Dinos are one of the newest teams in the Korean Baseball League, formed in 2011, but this year was ranked second in the League with an ever growing fan base.

Their new stadium will also be surrounded by interactive parklands and all commercial spaces, in the stadium, including restaurants, fan retail shop, function room and café have also been designed for use outside game day. Populous is designing the project with local partner Haeahn Consortium and construction is scheduled for completion in 2018.