Professional Basketball, Strengthening Player Base and Securing Balanced Offense and Defense
KINTEX Pro Billiards Stadium, Watching Top-tier Players' Matches Live
Mayor Lee Dong-hwan "Supporting the Revitalization of Professional Basketball, Billiards, and eSports"
Goyang Special City is heating up with the enthusiasm for indoor sports such as professional basketball and professional billiards.
Lee Dong-hwan, Mayor of Goyang Special City (third from the left), is seen cheering with the Goyang Sono Skygunners players. Provided by Goyang Special City
According to Goyang City on the 9th, the professional basketball team Goyang Sono Skygunners is off to a smooth start, currently holding 5 wins and 2 losses in 7 games, ranking 2nd in the 2024-2025 KCC Professional Basketball League.
The 2024-2025 professional basketball league runs from last October through April next year, with 10 teams playing 54 games each over 6 rounds. After the regular season ends, the top 6 teams advance to the playoffs to determine the ultimate champion.
Last year, when Goyang Day One was expelled from the professional basketball league (KBL), the team faced disbandment and the loss of local affiliation. In response, Sono International, the holding company of Daemyung Sono Group, reflected the hopes of Goyang citizens and basketball fans by founding the Goyang Sono Skygunners as a new 10th team, maintaining the roster and local affiliation.
The Goyang Sono Skygunners strengthened their roster this year through free agency (FA), foreign player acquisitions, and trades, achieving a balanced team in both offense and defense.
Goyang Sono shows strengths in points per game, three-point shots, free throw, and field goal percentages. Not only excelling in three-point shooting, often called archery basketball, but also enhancing rebounds and defense, the team has improved the cohesion of offense, defense, and both inside and outside plays, resulting in stable performance.
The home arena, Goyang Sono Arena, spared no investment in facilities, replacing lighting and floor mats to enhance spectators' immersion. New seating arrangements, including seats at both ends of the arena and table seats, were introduced so spectators can feel the atmosphere and be closer to the players.
A horizontal electronic scoreboard was installed on the wall between the first and second floors of the arena, allowing real-time viewing of player statistics, and cheering that combines visual, vocal, and physical participation was introduced.
Goyang KINTEX PBA Stadium, Popular for Watching Professional Billiards Live
The Professional Billiards Association (PBA) Tour showcases intense competition and thrilling matches centered at the PBA Stadium located in Goyang KINTEX.
Lee Dong-hwan, Mayor of Goyang Special City (center), is taking a commemorative photo after appointing Jo Jae-ho, PBA player (left), and Kim Ga-young, LPBA player, as sports ambassadors for Goyang Special City. Photo by Goyang Special City
The KINTEX PBA Stadium is popular as a venue where fans can watch top-tier domestic and international professional players of the PBA Tour up close.
The PBA Tour, launched in 2019, is the sixth professional sport in Korea and is organized by the Korea Professional Billiards Association. It features the discipline commonly known as 3-cushion billiards, played on a pocketless table with three balls in a carom 3-ball game.
The 2024-2025 PBA Tour runs from June this year through March next year, including the PBA, LPBA tours, and team leagues. The PBA and LPBA hold nine tour events leading up to the World Championship, while the team league features 9 teams playing 40 games over 5 rounds.
The NH Nonghyup Card PBA-LPBA Championship is being held at the Goyang KINTEX PBA Stadium from the 3rd to the 11th of this month.
The Goyang KINTEX Stadium spans 904.1㎡ and includes 2 main billiard tables, 6 auxiliary billiard tables, filming facilities, and approximately 240 spectator seats.
It can accommodate not only preliminary matches involving many participants but also major matches with live broadcasts and audiences all in one location.
Fans can watch the matches on sports specialty TV channels or visit the stadium to watch top-level players compete live.
The dedicated stadium had been a long-standing wish since the launch of the PBA Tour. Previously, rental fees accounted for a large portion of event costs, and securing space for simultaneous preliminary matches, as well as resolving issues with broadcasting equipment, relay vehicles, and spectator seating, posed challenges. The establishment of the dedicated stadium has enabled more stable operation of the professional billiards league.
Lee Dong-hwan, Mayor of Goyang Special City, said, "Goyang is equipped with excellent indoor and outdoor sports facilities such as Goyang Sono Arena, Goyang Sports Complex, and KINTEX, and has excellent accessibility to Seoul and Incheon Airport, making it an ideal location for various performances and sports events." He added, "We will support the development of the sports industry and regional economic revitalization by actively marketing and building cooperative relationships in professional basketball, professional billiards, e-sports, and more."
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