“If Hana Bank had been the parent company since the days of the former citizens’ club, it would have been Ulsan Hyundai-Jeonbuk Hyundai.”
Daejeon World Cup Stadium is a place that contains the rugged history of Daejeon Citizen, a poor citizens’ club in the past. It was not easy to gather a single spectator, so the front desk tearfully appealed to attract spectators, and even the players took off their feet.
The building that the players used as a lodging was at the level of an abandoned house in Gukgok-ri, Gongju-si (now Sejong-si), which was worse than the lodging for elementary school players. Here, the players gnashed their teeth and fought to beat the top team once. However, there are memories of some employees who shed tears and couldn’t hold back their anger because they were caught up in the decision dispute and showed a gesture of protest to the referee.
However, the atmosphere at the Daejeon World Cup Stadium of Daejeon Hana Citizen, which was promoted to K-League 1, has changed a lot. It is not that there were no spectators even during the K-League 2 (2nd division) days, but it is raising interest by showing soccer that catches both the contents and results of the early stage of promotion.
Local high-ranking officials who were crying out for them to come find the stadium on their own. In the lounge on the third floor of the stadium, a place for exchange between Daejeon opinion leaders will be held. While enjoying a light meal, conversations about the game come and go. Although there was a similar scene in the days of the citizen club, it was a place containing the cries of the club that had to open its hands to the city and win the budget.
On the 16th, in the 7th round of the K-League 1 against Ulsan Hyundai, Daejeon Metropolitan City Mayor Lee Jang-woo watched the game again following the opening match. There was no booing at the moment of taking pictures with the winners of the event. Normally, when the head of a local government held an event at the stadium, fans who did not like the city government booed it, but this time it was not the case.
Rather, the person receiving the greatest welcome is Ham Young-joo, chairman of Hana Financial Group. He promised to invest and recruited national team-level players such as Joo Se-jong, Cho Yu-min, Lee Jin-hyun, and Oh Jae-seok. He did his best at a level that even foreign players could invest in. I visited the stadium from the 2nd division days, and the fans shouted “Ham Young-joo! Ham Young-joo!”
An official from Daejeon said, “If the owner has no special schedule, he always wants to come to the home game. I say hello to the audience. I wonder if the fans are chanting their name naturally.”
Of course, there were also difficulties. In January 2020, the team’s symbolic color purple was covered with green, the symbolic color of Hana Financial Group, at the time of re-founding after receiving the citizen team Daejeon Citizen. It was no wonder that there was a backlash from the fans. Through dialogue and compromise, we have achieved a win-win that continues to the symbol of the parent company without losing the purple spirit.
As a result, they collected 59.403 people in 4 home games this year. It is second overall with an average of 14,851 per game. FC Seoul (total 87,760, average 29,253) and Ulsan Hyundai (total 58,450, average 19,483), who played 3 games, are ranked 1st and 3rd, respectively. Jeonbuk Hyundai, a box office club, was pushed to 4th place with a total of 49,175 (average 12,294) in 4 games. Suwon Samsung, which has loyal fans, fell to 6th place with 33,408 (average 8,352) in 4 games. Even if Ulsan allows a turnaround by playing the East Coast Derby against Pohang Steelers on the weekend, it is unlikely to fall below third place.
The facility operation rights acquired from Daejeon City from 2020 also made it easier to use the stadium. From 2022 until 2045, it was reborn as a true home stadium by signing a consignment management and contract with the Deokam Soccer Center, which is being used as a clubhouse. By leaving the facilities that were attached and removed only on the day of the game, the atmosphere was maintained, and the cost of consumption was reduced by increasing efficiency. Another advantage is the expansion of other facilities, such as sports climbing, which started by raising the possibility of a comprehensive sports club. Hana Financial Group’s sports marketing integration was implemented in the stadium.
A soccer player who experienced a high-ranking position in Daejeon said, “Honestly, Daejeon in the past was synonymous with poverty and was noisy. It was full of negative issues such as administrative chaos. What is certain is that the effect of Hana Financial Group is great. If it had been the parent company even during the past citizen club days, it would have put Ulsan, Jeonbuk, Suwon Samsung, and FC Seoul under its feet in terms of performance and crowd gathering, “he laughed.
Daejeon coach Lee Min-seong confirmed the possibility early on. After winning against Ulsan 2-1, he said, “I knew that Daejeon was a team with this much potential. I was promoted to the K-League 1, and I am grateful for the many fans who came. Ulsan, Jeonbuk, and Seoul. Compared to the same teams, I think Daejeon is an area where it is possible to secure enough fans that it will not be pushed back.”
It is a question mark whether Daejeon will maintain good grades until the end of the season, but it is positive that at least it has increased the fun of watching by establishing a stance that it will not abandon attacking soccer.토토사이트 How to catch fans who will continue to gather and turn them into long-term customers has become a homework for the club and Hana Financial Group.