Everyone knows how to solve the grass problem.
▶We need to increase the number of management personnel. Currently, it is a reality that one or two people manage one side of the lawn in a barrel. The repair work should be carried out immediately after the game, but now it is carried out by six to eight people the next morning. Of course, as more people are put in, better management is achieved.
▶ We need to improve the lawn mower variety. Most stadiums are equipped with the Kentucky Bluegrass-Midnight grass type. It was introduced during the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, and it is vulnerable to humid and hot weather conditions in the summer. The government needs to test the overseeding system, which is commonly used in Japan, or the Kentucky Bluegrass-HGT system, which is considered a recent alternative.
▶The soil needs to be improved. During the construction stage, problems with drainage occur due to poor soil quality and poor management, and problems with grass not growing properly are common. Soil renewal work is needed, and above all, good soil should be used.
▶Equipment such as collectors and ventilators should be equipped, and good fertilizers should be used. ▶Manual should be strengthened, and management skills should be improved through education.
No matter how many grass experts you encounter, the answer is similar. You cannot escape the aforementioned solution in a broad sense. In other words, money is ultimately the issue of grass. Increasing management staff, cultivars, soil improvement, and equipment are all money. The grass problem cannot move forward without solving the money problem.
Basically, the facility management corporation is in charge of managing the lawn of the stadium. As the stadium is owned by local governments, it is operated by the facility management corporation under local governments. Of course, there are cases where clubs directly operate the stadium, such as Daejeon Hana Citizen and Incheon United, but in most cases, the facility management corporation manages and operates the stadium with a budget from local governments.
The budget does not lead to grass management. Right now, the Seoul Facilities Management Corporation alone has earned 8.2 billion won this year, and only 250 million won has been spent on grass. Many facility management corporations outsource grass management companies, and grass management companies provide re-subcontracting through bidding. In practice, it is managed as much as 70% of the budget. As tax revenues have decreased recently and local governments’ budgets have been cut significantly, the budget of the facility management corporation has also been cut. The current reality is that you can only spray fertilizer twice or give it to them once. The fundamental solution is to make a living. Over the past three years, the Seoul Facilities Management Corporation has spent only 2 million won on grass research services.
The solution is the club. Clubs should also step up as management entities. They should nurture professional manpower within the club with more than managerial expertise of the industrial complex, and if necessary, they should make direct investment. Lawn issues are directly linked to performance and box office success. Bad grass affects performance and can be linked to performance. It does not provide good performance, and fans can turn a blind eye to it. The Korean Professional Football Association is also considering depriving the team of the right to host home games, just as the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) did this year, if the grass is not good starting next season. After all, investment in grass can be an essential budget for performance.
Of course, the reality is that it is not easy. Each club pays a stadium fee to a local government or the Facilities Management Corporation. It pays 8 to 10 percent of the entrance profit. It pays 400 million won if it is small, or more than 1 billion won if it is large. Each club would complain, “Does it make sense to pay monthly rent and open the marble floorboards with my own money?”
Direct operation such as Daejeon and Incheon can be the answer, but many local governments are reluctant to do so, and it is not a big save in terms of cost. In reality, the biggest contributor to the stadium’s usage is additional costs such as electricity, gas, and parking lots. Moreover, it has been built in most World Cup stadiums for more than 20 years, which could lead to higher maintenance costs in the future. Unless you have the right to operate the surrounding facilities like Daejeon, you could lose money. 먹튀검증
It is not that there is no way out. The key is communication and co-prosperity. A solution can be found by working with local governments and the Korea Facilities Management Corporation. Ulsan HD is a good example. Ulsan has maintained close relations with local governments and the Korea Facilities Management Corporation. It plans to visit Japan in December with local governments and the Korea Facilities Management Corporation. While visiting four stadiums in Japan, the government will observe and analyze how to operate and manage stadiums including grass, and apply them to situations in Ulsan. Ulsan, which directly manages Western and Gangdong stadiums where athletes train, plans to conduct breed tests and find solutions, and local governments and the corporation will apply them.