Seoul soccer stadium, site of some 2002
World Cup games, opens Saturday
By Jim Lea, Osan bureau chief
Seoul’s $150 million World Cup soccer stadium was to open Saturday, six months
before the start of an international tournament.
The 64,677-seat facility in the city’s Sangam-dong section, is the largest soccer
stadium in Asia, a city office spokesman said.
South Korea and Japan will jointly host the World Cup 2002 tournament. The
tourney’s first game will be played in Seoul on May 31. The final will be played in
Tokyo on June 30.
Held every four years, the tournament is said to be the world’s most popular
sporting event.
Several events are planned to mark the opening of the stadium. Gates were to open at 3
p.m. Saturday, with the festivities to begin at 5:30 p.m.
Those events were to include music and dance presentations, a kite-flying exhibition,
and speeches by Seoul Mayor Koh Kun and other officials. A soccer match between Korea and
Croatia was to begin at 7 p.m.
At least 65,000 people are expected to attend the events.
Anti-terrorism and other security measures will be strictly enforced, the city
spokesman said, including electronic searches and plainclothes security personnel being
stationed throughout the facility.
Consumption of alcohol and smoking are prohibited in the stadium.
Some streets leading to the stadium will be closed to traffic from noon to midnight
Saturday. Trains on subway line No. 6, which stops at the stadium, will run every three
minutes.
Seoul’s stadium, under construction for three years, is one of 10 being built
throughout the country for the World Cup. Others already open are Incheon, Taejon,
Chongju, Kwangju, Suwon, Taegu, Ulsan, Pusan and Cheju.
Many of those cities are near U.S. military bases.
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