1st place Gangwon FC home stadium suffers from illegal parking

Long-term parking of dozens of dump trucks, cargo trucks, etc.
Tens of thousands of people flock to Gangwon FC’s home games, causing parking difficulties
Crackdowns must be expedited to resolve audience inconvenience

◇On the 29th, a dump truck parked at the Gangneung Sports Complex parking lot is taking up 4 parking spaces. Gangneung = Reporter Kwon Soon-chan

Gangneung Stadium, the home stadium of Gangwon FC, is suffering from illegal parking.

On the afternoon of the 29th, about 20 large vehicles, including dump trucks and construction equipment and large cargo trucks, were parked in the parking lot of Gangneung Sports Complex. Since they were large vehicles, it was common for them to take up two parking spaces, and in some cases, one took up as many as four spaces. Camping cars that had taken up public parking lots throughout Gangneung City could also be seen here. Most of them were illegally parked for a long time.

Gangneung Sports Complex suffers from serious parking problems whenever Gangwon FC hosts a home game. Most spectators have to park at a nearby swimming pool or Gangneung Hockey Center and walk a long way. Gangwon FC fan Ryu (30, Gyodong) lamented, “It is virtually impossible to park at the sports complex, so it is common to have to park somewhere else and walk for more than 20 minutes.”

In a situation where parking is already difficult, illegally parked cars are taking up dozens of parking spaces, which will only increase the inconvenience for spectators. During games, parking spaces at nearby swimming pools also need to be expanded as they are short on parking space.

In particular, Gangwon FC, which is in first place in the league this season, is also showing the best results in terms of box office sales, so there are indications that crackdowns are necessary as soon as possible. All five Gangwon FC home games held in Gangneung this season attracted over 10,000 spectators, recording an average of 11,613. The Suwon FC game on the 31st has already sold over 8,800 tickets, so it is certain to exceed 10,000 spectators. In order to give more strength to Gangwon FC, crackdowns on illegal parking are urgently needed.

A Gangneung City official said, “Even if it is construction equipment, it is obviously subject to crackdowns if it is long-term parking,” and added, “We have currently attached warning signs to some vehicles, and we will crack down on them so that citizens are not inconvenienced.”