Will Busan become a basketball city again?
On the 23rd,안전놀이터 information titled ‘Notification of Opinions for Attracting Men’s Professional Basketball Team’ was released on the information disclosure portal of the official e-government website of the Republic of Korea. This is information released by the Busan Metropolitan City Sports Promotion Division.
Busan has been the home of the men’s professional basketball team for a long time. In the first year of professional basketball, Kia Enterprise (now Hyundai Mobis) was based in Busan. Since 2003, KTF (now KT) has made Busan its home. Then, in 2021, I moved to Suwon City. Currently, women’s professional basketball BNK Some has established itself as a representative basketball team in Busan.
The club considering relocation this time is Day One Sports. Day One Sports took over the Orion basketball team last year and jumped into professional basketball. ‘Basketball President’ Heo Jae was appointed as the representative of the basketball team. In addition, for the first time in professional basketball, he continued unconventional steps such as signing a naming sponsor contract with Carrot Insurance. However, less than a year later, the parent company’s financial deterioration drove it into crisis. Carrot Insurance and naming sponsors were also terminated early. Currently, a number of problems such as unpaid wages for the players have to be resolved.
In a phone call with Sports World, a Day One official said, “We are negotiating well with the city of Busan. At present, it is likely to move the place of origin,” he said. “An outline of the naming sponsor came out. About 80% of it has been done. In addition to the naming sponsor, about six other sponsors are also under discussion. The progress is over 50%,” he said.
“We also said that we would resolve the issue of salaries for the players by May 30. From then on, it looks like it could be fully paid within a week. We will also make sure that the salaries of the players are resolved quickly.”
Busan City is positive before the ointment. An official from Busan City said, “I know that Day 1 Sports has to relocate its hometown. I think I asked local governments around the country, including Busan City and Pohang, for their opinions. Currently, there is no men’s basketball team in Busan. We are reviewing it positively.”
Also, “It is not a part that we hope for. But Busan is the second city, so I think it would be nice to have a men’s professional basketball team.”