FC Anyang has achieved its grand dream of promotion, but there is a long way to go. This is because improving the environment as much as the hot soccer heat is an urgent priority.
Founded as a team run by citizens in 2013, Anyang successfully won promotion to the K-League 1 by ranking first in the K-League 2 (second division) this year. The team has completely erased the pain of failing to advance to the K-League 1 after losing to Suwon Samsung in last year’s promotion playoff.
Anyang’s promotion has special meaning to other clubs. The predecessor of FC Seoul, Anyang LG Cheetas, has been based in Anyang, but declared his return to Seoul in the winter of 2003, saying he would return to his hometown of Lucky Geumseong.
Citizens of Anyang have boycotted LG products in anger at the sudden disappearance of LG Cheetahs overnight. For this reason, FC Seoul has become a “public enemy” of fans of other K-League clubs in solidarity with Anyang fans.
However, it was not possible to just get angry and shed tears, and FC Anyang was created as a civic team in 2013 led by Anyang citizens. Banners with the words “very red is already purple” were always hung at Anyang Sports Complex. As Anyang fans started anew, the phrase has become a symbol of Anyang City and is also used in municipal activities.
Anyang’s soccer fever is definitely explosive. On April 21 this year, 12,323 spectators flocked to the match against Suwon Samsung. Many were Suwon fans, but there were also many Anyang fans. Anyang, on the contrary, also contributed to the 16,332 spectators in Suwon’s away game held at Mir Stadium in Yongin on October 6.
This year, the league recorded 81,054 in 17 home games, with an average of 4,767 visitors. The Jeonnam Dragons, who have a lot of K-League 1 experience, gathered 74,445 people in 18 games, far more than the average of 3,913 visitors.
Anyang, which will change its level next year, is also expected to see an increase in the number of spectators. It is expected that a large number of away fans from top-tier clubs such as Ulsan HD, Pohang Steelers and Suwon FC, which have become box office clubs by winning three consecutive K-League 1 titles, will visit. In addition, clubs with enthusiastic fans such as Jeonbuk Hyundai, Daejeon Hana Citizen, and Incheon United can fill the away seats on the premise that they can survive in the K-League 1. If Suwon Samsung advances to the promotion playoffs and survives and then goes to the promotion playoffs together, it is a guarantee of success.
Above all, the interesting confrontation with FC Seoul, which is tied up with bad luck, has become possible at least once and up to two times depending on the allocation of the game. This is the same as saying that Anyang has an opportunity to increase the club’s profits through various marketing along with admission tickets.
In the end, the worries end up as a stadium problem. Anyang has installed variable seats on the track and operates to overcome the limitation of being a general stadium. It is inconvenient for away fans to see from a distance, but this is also not a difficult problem considering the peculiarity of an away game, but there are still some regrets about the general stadium in the era of dedicated stadiums.
The Samcheok boy also knows that the stadium affects performance, crowd support, and marketing just by looking at the Ansan Greeners, who are in a similar situation, in the process of creating an auxiliary stadium next to Wow Stadium as a dedicated stadium.
There has been no announcement yet on what the gift of promotion is, but plans to transform the inline skating rink a little higher than the current general stadium location into a soccer stadium exist.
Anyang Mayor Choi Dae-ho, the owner of the team, is willing to build it himself and has already announced his plan to build it with 10,000 seats. From the perspective of soccer fans, it is not bad, and on the day of the game, you can get the effect of maximizing the profits of nearby shopping malls.
However, there are still many mountains to overcome in the construction of a dedicated stadium. It is true that the city’s budget is insufficient. Although there is a consensus, there are difficulties that the support of the provincial government and state funds must follow. In addition, there is a corps-level military unit near the site that is scheduled to be built. It is a matter of consultation.
In order to secure state funds, the case of DGB Daegu Bank Park, which succeeded in transforming into a soccer-only stadium by leaving the form of the headquarters of the former Daegu Sports Complex, can be followed, but this is not an easy problem either. In the case of Daegu, Cho Kwang-rae, a soccer player, persistently consulted with the city and emphasized the need for a stadium.
The case of Anyang is somewhat different. The team is not talking about it because Choi, the owner of the team, has a strong will. An Anyang official said, “The owner of the team is so determined to build an exclusive stadium that everyone is watching.”
Other issues are also intertwined. Currently, large-scale apartments are built or standing near the sports complex due to the construction of housing sites. The construction of a dedicated stadium is the subject of complex discussions as it is woven into the urban plan of Anyang City. It is somewhat difficult for the stadium to be the central discussion structure. 스포츠토토
A high-ranking official of Anyang City, who asked not to be named, said, “A Wolpan Line station for the metropolitan railway is built near the stadium and there is also an urban development project. Some people are concerned about reckless development and fully sympathize with it, so they are trying to approach it carefully. We are considering various ways to secure operating expenses.”
Although it is difficult to build a dedicated stadium right now, Anyang is a city with certain potential to collect soccer fans, the 2003 year when Seoul last settled in Anyang. Even assuming that there are imaginary numbers such as free tickets, the total number of people was 207,981 in 19 games and an average of 19,46 per game. The figure is that if the facilities are improved, fans can flock to see purple Anyang. Anyang has to gather wisdom.