Like the ‘Milan Derby’, the ‘Suwon Derby’ too? Suwon World Cup Stadium Will ‘one roof, two families’ come true?
Like the rivals of the Italian ‘Milan Derby’, will the two teams of the ‘Suwon Derby’ live as ‘two families under one roof’?
K-League 1 (Part 1) Suwon FC owner Lee Jae-joon, mayor of Suwon, said at the inauguration ceremony of new general manager Choi Soon-ho (61) held at the meeting room of the Suwon City Sports Center on the 2nd that he would consider using the Suwon World Cup Stadium as his home stadium. Since its opening in 2001, Suwon World Cup Stadium has been used by Suwon Samsung as their homeroom. Just as Italian Serie A rivals Inter Milan and AC Milan jointly use Giuseppe Meazza (San Siro), Suwon Samsung and Suwon FC can coexist at the Suwon World Cup Stadium.
Suwon FC was founded in 2003 as the Suwon City Hall soccer team and has been using Suwon Sports Complex as its home. It is a very underdeveloped facility, so there are many voices demanding the construction of a dedicated stadium. It was opened in 1971 and expanded in 1986, but not only the spectators watching the game but also the players who play the game are not satisfied.
The new general manager Choi promised to complete the clubhouse within his two-year term, professing that he would make significant investments in the club’s infrastructure. However, the club’s infrastructure is very poor compared to Choi’s goal of “to become a global standard club.” Since last year, even Suwon FC has been operating, but there is no proper training ground. In this situation, Mayor Lee’s statement, “We are considering using Suwon World Cup Stadium as our home stadium together with Suwon Samsung,” is enough to draw attention.
Even when Kim Ho-gon was the former general manager, there was an attempt to use the Suwon World Cup Stadium together with Suwon Samsung. Former general manager Kim said in an interview with a media at the end of 2021, “Suwon World Cup Stadium is being used by Suwon Samsung, and I hope that a plan to use it prospectively will be prepared.” Suwon FC used the Suwon World Cup Stadium temporarily in 2014 and 2021 due to the construction of the Suwon Sports Complex lawn replacement. 스포츠토토
However, there are many problems to be solved. Suwon Samsung pays about 1 billion won in annual rent to the Gyeonggi-do Suwon World Cup Stadium Management Foundation to use the stadium. However, when Suwon FC, run by Suwon City, uses the World Cup Stadium, it only needs to pay a fee of 1/10. For Suwon Samsung, joint use is not a big advantage in terms of cost. Not only that, but all parts, such as the stadium and locker room branding and admission policy, are tailored to Suwon Samsung. Oh Dong-seok, head of Suwon Samsung, said, “It’s not something that Suwon FC has wanted since the previous head coach, so it’s not completely unfamiliar.”
Although the related discussion has not started, the possibility is open. Director Oh explained, “Gyeonggi-do and Suwon-si share 6-4 shares in the management foundation, and this requires discussion by various organizations.” An official from the professional soccer world said, “The mayor’s remarks can be a strong message in itself.” The joint home stadium is not a completely impossible story.”
