The Korea Football Association has confirmed that it will take out a 30 billion won loan to cover the increased construction costs of the Cheonan Football Complex.
According to reports from the KFA and soccer circles on Wednesday, the association is taking the relevant steps to obtain a 30 billion won loan from Hana Bank early next year. The 30 billion won is 19% of the 2023 budget (1581 billion won). The 2023 budget includes 51.1 billion won for the construction of the football center.
The Cheonan Football Center has been under construction since April 2022. The original construction cost was 309.4 billion won (189.4 billion won by Cheonan City and 120 billion won by the Korea Football Association).
However, due to the increase in labor and building material costs, the association's position is that a loan is inevitable. If the association borrows 30 billion won to pay for the construction, the total construction cost will increase to 150 billion won.
Cheonan Center is 478,000㎡ in size. Of this, the association will build 115,000 square meters (about 35,000 pyeong) and Cheonan City will build 363,000 square meters. The association and Cheonan City will independently carry out construction on their respective sites, and after completion, the association will manage some of the facilities owned by Cheonan City through consignment management.
The association's site will include a small stadium, indoor soccer field, accommodation building, three natural grass soccer fields, two artificial grass soccer fields, and two hybrid grass soccer fields. The Cheonan City site will include two natural grass soccer fields, two artificial turf fields, a soccer museum, a gymnasium, and physical education facilities. Completion is scheduled for December 2024 at the earliest.
The federation will borrow 30 billion won and organize the debt by repaying the principal and interest at the same time for 10 years. "We will have to repay a total of 39 billion won, including principal and interest, over 10 years," the association explained. The Paju Training Center was built in 2001 and will expire in January of next year, when the donation is due. 온라인카지노
To continue using the center, the association must pay 2.6 billion won a year to the city of Paju. "Even if we pay 2.6 billion won in rent every year, the Paju Center cannot be owned by the association," said an association official, "so we decided it was reasonable to invest an average of 3.9 billion won per year for 10 years to build the Cheonan Center, which is owned by the association."
"The association purchased the 115,000-square-meter site, so the site and the facilities (under construction) are all owned by the association," the official said, adding, "It is not a condition for payment of donations."
Until the Cheonan Center is completed, the national team needs a stable place to train. "If the association leaves the Paju Training Center, Paju City will have to manage and operate the center itself," the association official said, adding, "If Paju City has no other plans, we are considering various options such as operating the center for a period of time on behalf of Paju City, or using it as a rental concept for a certain amount of money if there is a demand for national team training." The association has been running a funding program for footballers and football fans since the 1st of this month to build the Cheonan Center. It is a form of donating money for the construction.
In return for the donations, the association will create a naming gallery in the plaza of the comprehensive center and engrave the names on the walls and sidewalk blocks for donors of 1 million won or more for individuals and 5 million won or more for groups or corporations.
The project to build the Cheonan Football Complex was launched in 2018 by the Korea Football Association for local governments across the country. Cheonan City competed with 24 other local governments and was selected as the first preferred bidder, and construction began in April 2022.