The top South Korean baseball league cleared another milestone in attendance on Wednesday, surpassing the 9-million mark for the first time.
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said its 10 clubs have drawn 9,000,904 fans for the season after five games Wednesday.
The game between the Hanwha Eagles and the Lotte Giants, the two clubs trying to end their long history of postseason futility this year, drew 22,758 fans at Sajik Stadium in the southeastern city of Busan.
At Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, 13,929 fans were on hand to watch the Kiwoom Heroes host the Samsung Lions. Also in the capital city, 13,848 fans went to Jamsil Baseball Stadium, as the LG Twins hosted the KT Wiz.
The league-leading Kia Tigers played the SSG Landers in front of 13,155 fans at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in the southern city of Gwangju.
Fans watch a Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game between the home team LG Twins and the KT Wiz at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Aug. 28, 2024. (Yonhap)
Fans watch a Korea Ba
seball Organization regular-season game between the home team LG Twins and the KT Wiz at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Aug. 28, 2024. (Yonhap)
In Changwon, near Busan, the NC Dinos hosted the Doosan Bears with 5,869 fans on hand at Changwon NC Park.
Through Wednesday, teams are averaging 14,756 fans per game, the highest in the current 10-team format by more than 3,000.
The KBO set a single-season attendance record on Aug. 18 by reaching 8,475,664 fans, breaking a seven-year-old mark of 8,400,688.
With about a month left in the regular season, the KBO has set its sights on the 10-million mark.
Also on Wednesday, the Tigers became the fourth team to draw over 1 million fans at home this season with 1,000,215. They joined the Twins (1,133,851), the Bears (1,119,571) and the Lions (1,131,022).
Since the league expanded to 10 teams in 2015, the record for most clubs with a million fans is four. The KBO could have at least two more teams reach that plateau this year, with the Landers (951,776) and the
Giants (935,189) making a late push.
The teams have sold out a combined 169 games, nearly 28 percent of all games so far and a league record by a wide margin.
Source: Yonhap News Agency
