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| The KBO spent most of the past two seasons playing without any fans in the stands, due to effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo from Aljazeera) |
[Asia News = Reporter Reakkana] SEOUL: When former Los Angeles Dodgers star Yasiel Puig launched his first grand slam for his new South Korean team Kiwoom Heroes on Tuesday, only 774 people were in attendance. Just a handful of people were in the vicinity when Puig's home run ball landed in the second row in left-center field at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul.
That was the smallest crowd at a Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) game in nearly 10 years, and certainly not a misprint. The Heroes hosted the NC Dinos for a Tuesday-Thursday series at the 16,200-seat venue. The second game only did slightly better with 893 fans, and the attendance peaked with 1,020 fans in the series finale on Thursday. An average of about 896 fans watched the Heroes sweep the series and stretch their winning streak to six games. The KBO spent most of the past two seasons playing without any fans in the stands, due to effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
And during a few stretches when fans were allowed back at ball games, crowds were capped -- at 70 percent in some places and 50 percent or less at others. In a heavily gate-driven league, teams took substantial blows to their bottom lines.
