Daejeon Hanwha Life Insurance Eagles Park continues to sell out every day this season.
The KBO League is heading toward record-breaking success this season. On the 16th, the number of spectators exceeded 3 million (3,056,380) in just 217 games of the season, which is the second fastest pace ever since 2012 (190 games) when there were 8 teams.
To date, the number of spectators per game is 14,084. Based on this, if we do a simple calculation, the total audience for the season could be 10.14 million. It easily surpasses the record for the largest number of spectators in a single season in 2017 (8,400,688), and it seems that the first ever '10 million spectators' can also be expected.
The team that is contributing greatly to this record-breaking success is none other than the ‘9th place' Hanwha Eagles. The Hanwha Eagles are ranked 7th with a cumulative attendance of 272,412 and an average attendance of 11,844 per game.
However, it must be taken into account that Hanwha's home stadium, Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon, has a full capacity of 12,000, making it the smallest among the 10 teams' home stadiums. There are four stadiums with less than 20,000 seats, and Daejeon is the only stadium with less than 15,000 seats.
Although the stadium is small, Hanwha's fans are passionate. Of the 23 home games this season, 21 but two were sold out. It has already tied the club's record for most sellouts in a single season, set in 2015, the first year of coach 'Yasin' Kim Seong-geun.
If this continues, it is expected that Samsung will be able to break the record for the most sold-out home games in a KBO League season (36 games) set by Samsung in 1996.
Hanwha has already broken the league record (previous 12 games, Samsung in 1995) in 29 years by selling out 17 consecutive home games from the final game last year to the SSG game on May 1 this year. No matter how small the stadium is, this level of sell-out is surprising. Weekday night games, not weekends or public holidays, are sold out as many as five times. This season's ticket sales rate reached 98.7%, and the average attendance increased by 65% compared to last season. Of course, both categories are the highest in the league. The team, which had the last average number of spectators last year (7,180 per game), is selling out games every day, so it is clear that it is the 'biggest contributor' to the league's success. What is ironic is Hanwha's performance. Hanwha's final score last season was 9th, and it remains in 9th place so far this season. They are only one game away from the bottom-place Lotte Giants, so they could fall to last place at any time.
Hanwha's box office success began in the off-season. Last year, after the 'two-hitting young guns' of Moon Dong-ju and Noh Si-hwan were on track, free agent Ahn Chi-hong was recruited, and the return of Ryu Hyun-jin, who was in the big league, hit a 'high point'. Hanwha, which had been at the bottom for a long time, created an atmosphere that it was time to move up.
In fact, the flow at the beginning of the season was good. Expectations seemed to be coming true as they took the lead, recording 8 wins and 2 losses in the first 10 games. Hanwha fans sold out the game every day, including the day Ryu Hyun-jin appeared on the mound, and also drew a cloud of spectators for away games.
However, since April, Hanwha's performance has plummeted. Their performance in April was only 6 wins, 17 losses (0.261), and in May, they only had 3 wins, 1 draw, and 8 losses (0.273), quickly falling from 1st to 9th place.
Foreign pitchers, the collapse of the starting lineup, including Ryu Hyun-jin, a weak bullpen, and a jagged batting lineup, are showing the signs of a weak team in many places, increasing disappointment.
Hanwha fans, famous as ‘Bodhisattva' fans, are still continuing their support. On the 15th, the 'Buddha's Birthday', Daejeon Stadium was once again full despite the rain, and Hanwha suffered a crushing defeat of 1-16.
Fans who continue to support the team even when it is in decline. Will Hanwha's rebound be quick, or will the fans' patience run out quickly? 19가이드03
