ID :
187096
Wed, 06/08/2011 - 05:29
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Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/187096
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S. Korean baseball league on pace to set attendance record
SEOUL (Yonhap) - South Korea's top baseball league is on pace to set an attendance record this season, the league's data showed Wednesday.
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said after 211 games played through Tuesday, the league's eight clubs have drawn 2.87 million fans. There will be 532 games played this season.
The KBO estimated that it could reach 3 million fans by this weekend and set a record for the fewest number of games to that mark. Last year, the KBO surpassed 3 million fans after 243 games.
The KBO, which was founded in 1982, established an all-time record last year with 5.92 million fans in attendance. It was the third straight season in which baseball attendance increased. Before this season, the KBO set out to attract 6.63 million fans.
The league has drawn an average of 13,641 fans per game so far, up more than 2,000 from last year.
A league-wide parity has contributed to the success at the gate. The Kia Tigers and the LG Twins, both non-playoff teams last year, are tied for second place, one game behind the defending champion SK Wyverns.
The Doosan Bears, a perennial contender struggling in sixth place, still lead the KBO with just under 600,000 fans so far, playing out of the cavernous Jamsil Stadium in Seoul.
Baseball has been the country's most popular form of professional sport in recent years, buoyed by South Korea's gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, and the runner-up finish at the 2009 World Baseball Classic.
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said after 211 games played through Tuesday, the league's eight clubs have drawn 2.87 million fans. There will be 532 games played this season.
The KBO estimated that it could reach 3 million fans by this weekend and set a record for the fewest number of games to that mark. Last year, the KBO surpassed 3 million fans after 243 games.
The KBO, which was founded in 1982, established an all-time record last year with 5.92 million fans in attendance. It was the third straight season in which baseball attendance increased. Before this season, the KBO set out to attract 6.63 million fans.
The league has drawn an average of 13,641 fans per game so far, up more than 2,000 from last year.
A league-wide parity has contributed to the success at the gate. The Kia Tigers and the LG Twins, both non-playoff teams last year, are tied for second place, one game behind the defending champion SK Wyverns.
The Doosan Bears, a perennial contender struggling in sixth place, still lead the KBO with just under 600,000 fans so far, playing out of the cavernous Jamsil Stadium in Seoul.
Baseball has been the country's most popular form of professional sport in recent years, buoyed by South Korea's gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, and the runner-up finish at the 2009 World Baseball Classic.
