Nexon will build Korea's largest e-sports arena in the area around Jamsil Sports Complex in Songpa-gu, Seoul.
According to the information technology (IT) industry on the 10th, Nexon recently decided to invest in "Seoul Smart MICE Park," a special purpose company (SPC) to be established by a Hanwha consortium. Affiliates including Nexon Korea and Nexon Space are known to be contributing a total of more than 10 billion won. Nexon will secure the 40-year operating rights and naming rights for the "Sports Complex," which is to be built as part of the "Jamsil Sports and MICE Complex Development Project."
The Jamsil Sports and MICE Complex Development Project is a large-scale project to build a domed baseball stadium, sports and cultural facilities such as exhibition and convention centers, and lodging, commercial, and business facilities on a site of about 350,000 square meters in the Jamsil Sports Complex area of Songpa-gu, Seoul. The Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Hanwha consortium are carrying out the project as a private investment initiative, and it is currently under review by the Private Investment Project Review Committee of the Ministry of Economy and Finance's budget office. If it passes the review, the project will sign an "implementation agreement," meaning an official contract for the construction and operation of the facilities, and then break ground within the year, with completion targeted for 2032.
The Sports Complex, for which Nexon will hold the operating rights, will be used as a multipurpose space combining indoor sports and e-sports. It will serve as the home arena for professional basketball teams SK and Samsung, while during the sports off-season it will host e-sports competitions as well as fan events, Nexon intellectual property (IP) experience zones, and K-pop concerts. In particular, with a capacity of more than 10,000 seats, it is expected to establish itself as a new symbol of Korea's game industry. The 15 permanent e-sports arenas currently in Korea are small in scale, with several hundred to 1,000 seats. "The Sports Complex will be used for e-sports events and Nexon game IP experience zones going forward," a Nexon official said. "We plan to review the specific operating direction later."
