Decision day nears on host for Korean baseball

GEELONG is likely to find out by the end of the week if it has been successful in its bid to host a South Korean team in this summer’s Australian Baseball League.

As reported by the Geelong Advertiser last month, the region is one of four cities in contention to house Winterball Korea, with the team made up solely of South Kore- an players. If successful they will play out of the Geelong Baseball Centre.

That race is down to two, with Geelong strongly favoured to get the nod.

Baseball Australia chief executive Cam Vale is currently in Korea finalising details with the club, including where the team will be based.

All 40 of the team’s regular season games will be broadcast live on Korean television and would put Geelong on the Asian baseball map.

It’s the first time an Australian professional sporting league has included an international team from Asia, and the ABL is keen to also explore the commercial possibilities.

“With broadcast audience of up to 1 million viewers per game, we expect the international exposure for our partners and our teams’ partners to increase exponentially,” Vale said.

“The opportunity for Australian businesses to seek exposure into Korea is unrivalled to any other Australian domestic sporting team. In a region where more people attended live baseball games last year than the entire population of Australia, the spotlight will be on us when traditional northern hemisphere powerhouses Korea, Japan and Taiwan are dormant in their winter months.

“The inclusion of a topthree ranked baseball nation in the ABL will give Australian players more opportunities to improve their game by competing against quality talent week in, week out.”

The licence for the Korean team is the third ABL team announcement, following on from the previous announcements regarding the Sydney Blue Sox and Canberra Cavalry.