‘10,000 spectators’ on a professional basketball court for the first time in 12 years.
The third game of the 2023-2024 Jungkwanjang Professional Basketball Championship between Busan KCC and Suwon KT drew 10,496 spectators to Sajik Gymnasium in Busan, according to the official count.
This is a new attendance record for a single game this season, surpassing the previous record of 8,870 set on October 22 last year against Samsung Electronics in Seoul, the first home game KCC played after moving from Jeonju to Busan.
It was especially significant because it was the first game in 12 years in the Korean professional basketball league to draw more than 10,000 spectators.
The last game to exceed 10,000 fans before this one was the 2011-2012 season quarterfinal playoff match between KT and Anyang KGC Ginseng Corporation (now Jeonggwanjang) on March 24, 2012, which drew 12,815 fans. The venue was still Sajik Gymnasium.
The championship game was a matchup between brothers Heo Woong (KCC) and Heo Hoon (KT), the sons of “basketball president” Heo Jae, and has been attracting attention.
The third game was a watershed moment for the series, as KCC won the first game in Suwon on the 27th of last month and KT fought back to tie the series 1-1 on the 29th.
KCC and KT have a strange history in Busan.
KT called Busan home before moving to Suwon in 2021, and this season, KCC relocated from Jeonju to Busan and has become a favorite of Busan fans.
It has been 17 years since a professional basketball championship game was held in Busan, since April 27, 2007, when Busan KTF, the predecessor of KT, played Ulsan Mobis in the 2006-2007 season.
Sajik Gymnasium usually does not operate the third and fourth floors, but they were opened in the lead-up to the game as there were signs of a box office ‘hit’.
Sajik Gymnasium, which has all four floors open, can hold up to 18,000 people, so it was a question of whether it could surpass the ‘10,000’ mark, and on this day, the third and fourth floors 카지노 were filled to capacity.
The KBL announced that the game generated KRW 130.27 million in gate revenue, the highest single-game ticket revenue since the launch of the integrated marketing platform in the 2020-2021 season.
In the game, KCC, backed by its home fans, won 92-89 to take a 2-1 series lead. Heo Woong led the way with 26 points and seven assists, while Heo Hoon poured in a game-high 37 points.
With KCC drawing a crowd of 10,000 despite a baseball game between the Lotte Giants and Kiwoom Heroes at Sajik Baseball Stadium next door, it will be interesting to see if Lotte can surpass the 10,000 mark for the second consecutive game before the team travels to Daegu for Game 4 of the championship on March 3.