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US architecture studio DLA+ has unveiled its design for a multi-purpose sports– and entertainment building in Incheon, South Korea, containing the Cheongna SSG baseball stadium and a shopping centre.
Working with retail franchise Shinsegae Group, DLA+ claims the project will be “the world’s first baseball stadium with an integrated shopping mall and the first privately funded professional sporting venue in South Korea”.
Set to be completed in 2028, the covered stadium will be home to South Korean professional baseball team SSG Landers and will have seating for 21,000 spectators.
Connected to the stadium will be the Starfield shopping mall. In addition to baseball games, DLA+ designed the venue to host other sporting events, as well as concerts and a range of private and community activities.
By combining the stadium with a mall, DLA+ hopes more visitors will be encouraged to visit the building year-round.
“Both programs benefit each other,” studio principal Sunghoon Jung told Dezeen. “The stadium will have a longer exposure before and after the game and on non-game days, and the mall will draw more customers on game days.”
The project will also include a hotel with guest rooms and an infinity pool overlooking the stadium’s baseball field.
“The infinity pool is designed with two concepts in mind, seeing and being seen,” said Jung.
“Guests in the infinity pool area can watch the game while enjoying their time in the pool. Their activity is a great scene as a backdrop for the fans watching the game.”
The DLA+ principal explained that most sporting venues in South Korea are government-owned. As the country’s first privately-funded stadium, Jung claimed that DLA+’s design will be centred around the fans’ experience.
“Government-owned and funded stadium projects in Korea are very difficult for the sports design expertise to engage in in the early project planning process – it usually lacks a vision and strategies,” he said.
“Our project, the first privately funded Korean stadium, went through a heavy visioning and planning process that became a foundation and guiding principle for the design,” added Jung.
“This baseball stadium is being built from the ground up with fan experience and revenue generation in mind – we believe that its success will have a positive impact on the future of the Korean sports and entertainment industry.”
Other stadium designs that have recently been featured on Dezeen include Populous’s plans to expand Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium by adding a museum and hotel and the renovation of the National Football League stadium in Jacksonville, which will feature reflective cladding wrapping the stadium’s exterior.
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