Why Were the Chungnam Provincial Sports Festival Tennis Quarterfinals Held in Gongju?

Indoor Courts Unavailable as Reception Venue Prevents Rainy Weather Alternatives

On June 14, the quarterfinal tennis matches of the 77th Chungnam Provincial Sports Festival were held in Gongju, rather than the host city of Cheonan, leading to calls for the expansion of indoor sports facilities.

According to the Cheonan Sports Council and other sources on June 17, the matches were originally scheduled to take place at 9 a.m. that day at the outdoor tennis courts of Cheonan Sports Complex. However, due to rain the previous night, the courts became unusable.

The city has four indoor tennis courts, but they were being used as the venue for the Provincial Sports Festival reception, making it impossible to hold matches there in rainy weather.

Some teams had to play without their cheering squads. Ultimately, the venue was urgently changed to the Gongju Tennis Center, which has ten indoor courts. The matches were delayed by about an hour as the teams traveled to Gongju. Some teams had to play without their cheering squads.

An official from the Cheonan Sports Council said, "Because the four indoor tennis courts in Cheonan were being used for the Provincial Sports Festival reception, we could not hold the matches there. As a result, we moved the quarterfinals to the indoor courts in Gongju."

Ryu Hunhyeong, president of the Cheonan Tennis Association, stated, "The indoor tennis courts, which could have been used even in the rain, were occupied as a reception venue, and fundamentally, there is a shortage of indoor tennis courts. The biggest issue in Cheonan is the lack of tennis infrastructure, so expanding the number of courts is urgently needed."

Currently, Cheonan has about 2,000 registered tennis club members and around 2,500 including unregistered members. However, there are only four indoor courts and a total of 21 outdoor courts, including 16 within the city area.

As a result, there are repeated reports of "court shortages" every weekend.

One club member said, "Even if I want to play tennis, there are no available courts, so I can't play. I hope the city of Cheonan and local politicians will pay attention to expanding the insufficient tennis infrastructure, including securing additional indoor courts."