Gwangju Sees Surge in Consumption and Traffic on KIA Tigers Home Game Days

Economic Impact Analysis of Professional Baseball Game Days in September and October Last Year
Im-dong Ranks First in Growth Rate... Positive Effects on the Local Economy Confirmed
Chipeong-dong and Usan-dong Lead in Accommodation, Unam 2-dong and Sinan-dong in Floating Population
Launch of Sports-Specialized Tourism Products Such as "Baseball Fan Trip"

Gwangju Mayor Kang Gijeong is passionately cheering while watching the home game between the KIA Tigers and Doosan Bears held at Gwangju Kia Champions Field on May 26 last year. Provided by Gwangju City

On days when the KIA Tigers' professional baseball home games are held, the areas around Gwangju Kia Champions Field (hereafter referred to as Champions Field), including Im-dong in Buk-gu, Gwangju, see a significant increase in local consumer sales, floating population, and traffic volume, indicating a positive impact on the regional economy.

Accordingly, the city will introduce specialized tourism products such as the "Baseball Fan Trip" and "KTX Ticket and Accommodation Discounts" in connection with the "2025 Visit Gwangju Year," so that baseball spectators visiting the area can enjoy a wider variety of sports tourism in "Gwangju, the Baseball Holy Land."

According to Gwangju City on the 10th, a comparative analysis of card consumption sales, floating population, and traffic volume in 96 administrative districts and major transportation hubs in the region, conducted on 10 days with professional baseball home games and 10 days without them in September and October last year, showed that Im-dong, where Champions Field is located, experienced the largest increases in all three categories.

Card consumption sales in Im-dong during the 10 days when games were held totaled 2.31 billion KRW, an increase of 610 million KRW (35.9%) compared to 1.7 billion KRW on days without games. During this period, the floating population on game days was 321,000, a sharp rise of 51.4% (109,000 people) compared to 212,000 on non-game days. Among Gwangju's 96 administrative districts, Im-dong recorded the highest rates of increase in both card consumption sales and floating population during this period.

Traffic volume also surged around KTX Gwangju Songjeong Station, Gwangju General Bus Terminal, and bus stops near Champions Field. The number of arrivals at Gwangju Songjeong Station was 120,582 on game days, compared to 108,500 on non-game days, an 11.1% (12,082 people) increase. Similarly, the number of intercity bus arrivals at Gwangju General Bus Terminal was 94,224 on game days, up 8.9% (7,728 people) from 86,496 on non-game days.

Graph analyzing card spending sales and floating population on days with and without KIA Tigers games. Provided by Gwangju City

The number of passengers using the 14 city bus stops around Champions Field also increased explosively on game days. On game days, 45,294 people used these stops, a dramatic 85% (20,863 people) increase compared to 24,431 on non-game days.

In the accommodation sector, card consumption sales showed that visitors from other regions most frequently stayed in the Chipeong-dong area (272 million KRW) on game days. This was followed by Usan-dong in Gwangsan-gu (49 million KRW) and Chungjang-dong (47 million KRW). In addition, the floating population increased significantly in Unam 2-dong (30%), the entrance to the Honam Expressway, as well as in Sinan-dong (20%) and Gwangcheon-dong (17%).

Having confirmed the positive economic effects of professional baseball on the local economy, the city will begin selling the sports-specialized tourism product "Baseball Fan Trip" from March in connection with the "2025 Visit Gwangju Year," to encourage travelers to stay in Gwangju. The "Baseball Fan Trip" is a year-round tour program that utilizes spare time before professional baseball games to visit Gwangju's signature tourist spots such as Dongmyeong-dong, the Asia Culture Center (ACC), and the Mudeungsan area.

The city also plans to launch a special package combining KTX ticket and accommodation discounts in cooperation with the Gwangju branch of Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL). In addition, various sports tourism promotion programs will be implemented, including operating Gwangju tourism promotion booths during the season and offering special benefits to attract tourists.

Lee Byungcheol, Director of Planning and Coordination, stated, "With the KIA Tigers' opening just ahead, we will strive to ensure an organic combination of sports and tourism policies based on this analysis, so that the positive ripple effects of professional baseball games on the regional economy can be further expanded."