ES CON Field Hokkaido

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ES CON Field Hokkaido
エスコンフィールド北海道
ES CON Field Hokkaido Logo.png
ES CON Field Hokkaido render.png
Render of stadium with roof open
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
AddressHokkaido Ballpark F Village, Kyoei
LocationKitahiroshima, Hokkaido, Japan
Coordinates42°59′23″N 141°32′58″E / 42.98972°N 141.54944°E / 42.98972; 141.54944Coordinates: 42°59′23″N 141°32′58″E / 42.98972°N 141.54944°E / 42.98972; 141.54944
Public transitJR logo (hokkaido).svg JR Hokkaido:
Chitose Line at Kita-Hiroshima
OwnerFighters Sports & Entertainment
OperatorFighters Sports & Entertainment
Capacity35,000
Construction
Broke ground13 April 2020
ArchitectHKS Architects
BuilderObayashi Corporation
Tenants
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (NPB) (2023–)

ES CON Field Hokkaido (エスコンフィールド北海道, Esukon Fīrudo Hokkaidō) is a baseball stadium under construction in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaido. It will be the future home of the Nippon Professional Baseball's Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters and is scheduled to open in March, 2023. It will have a retractable roof and a capacity of 35,000 people. The stadium will be designed and built by HKS Architects and the Obayashi Corporation. The area immediately surrounding the stadium will be developed into Hokkaido Ballpark F Village, containing commercial facilities and restaurants for Fighters fans.

History[]

Background[]

In early 2016, Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) team the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters began considering constructing a new stadium in or around Sapporo.[1] Since first relocating to Sapporo from Tokyo in 2004, the Fighters have played their home games in Sapporo Dome, a multi-purpose stadium. Instead of being owned and operated by the team, the Dome is instead owned by the city of Sapporo and is operated and managed by Sapporo Dome Co., Ltd., a voluntary sector company funded by the city and its community.[2] At the time, Sapporo Dome was charging the Fighters approximately ¥16 million per game to play at the facility in front of a capacity crowd. Annually, the team was spending around ¥1.3 billion to play there. Additionally, Nippon Ham does not make any money on concessions or advertising in the stadium during games.[3] The high rental fees, loss of in-stadium sales revenue, and inflexibility of a multi-purpose facility all contributed to Nippon Ham's decision to explore building their own stadium.[2] The team was considering 15 to 20 sites in Hokkaido as candidates to build their new ballpark, including the campus of Hokkaido University in Kita-ku, Sapporo, the Makomanai district in Minami-ku, Sapporo, and the planned "Kitahiroshima Sports Park" site in Kitahiroshima, a Sapporo suburb.[4]

Makomanai Park in Sapporo was proposed as a site for the Fighters' new ballpark.

In December 2016, NPB announced that it set up a task force in collaboration with Nippon Ham to further the new stadium project and have a firm plan in place by March 2018.[5] The following day, the mayor of Kitahiroshima met team representatives to propose its sports park concept. It offered up 20 of the 36 hectares at its "Kitahiroshima Sports Park" site for a natural grass, retractable roof baseball stadium capable of seating 30,000 people. Additionally, the site would be home to an indoor practice field, training facilities, and commercial space.[6] Initially, Sapporo appealed to the team to continue playing at Sapporo Dome, even offering to make the facility a baseball-only stadium. After Nippon Ham continued to pursue new construction and with Kitahiroshima quickly offering up a plan, however, the city quickly began looking for suitable sites for a new stadium to avoid the prospect of the team leaving.[7] Four months later, Sapporo offered up two locations: 10 hectares at Hokkaido University and 13 hectares Toyohira-ku;[8] both sites, however, were quickly deemed unusable due to various circumstances.[9] With negotiations with Kitahiroshima continuing, Sapporo offered a third site by the end of 2017—Makomanai Park. The city proposed redevelopeding 20 hectares of the park into a baseball campus that included restaurants and commercial facilities with the new stadium being built in place of the park's aging Makomanai Open Stadium after its proposed demolition.[10]

As planned, a decision was made the following March with Kitahiroshima's Sports Park site being chosen as the home of the Fighters' new ballpark.[3] Concerns regarding the conservation of Makomanai Park's natural environment and opposition from local residents played a part in the decision not to redevelop the area.[3][11] Furthermore, Kitahiroshima's larger, 36-hectares location provided more space to construct the stadium and its planned surrounding facilities.[11] The city also agreed pay for the cost of infrastructure development, lease the land to Nippon-Ham free of charge, and exempt the ballpark and other park facilities from property tax and city planning tax for 10 years.[3][11]

Development and construction[]

Construction in August 2020

The Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters announced the basic stadium design and further details in late 2018. The 35,000-seat ballpark was designed by architecture firm HKS and features a retractable roof and natural grass. Owned and operated by Nippon Ham, its construction is estimated to cost ¥60 billion ($530 million).[12]

In January 2020 ES-Con Japan acquired the naming rights to the stadium, with the surrounding area known as Hokkaido Ballpark F Village.[13][14] On 13 April a ground breaking ceremony for the stadium took place.[15]

Design and features[]

ES CON Field Hokkaido will feature Japan’s second retractable stadium roof after Fukuoka PayPay Dome and the first with natural grass. The retractable roof will allow for the ballpark to be completely enclosed during Hokkaido's cold, snowy winters. The large, transparent "glass wall" on the outfield-side of the stadium will help to support a grass field when the roof is closed. The roof's high peak is meant to be reminiscent of a traditional Hokkaido home.[12]

In addition to being only the fifth grass field in NPB, it will also be only field other than Mazda Stadium to have an asymmetrical outfield wall.[12] Sapporo Dome, which is also used as a soccer stadium, has approximately twice as much foul territory as other NPB stadiums. In comparison, ES CON Field's field of play will be will be 15% smaller than at Sapporo Dome. The distance from home plate to the backstop will be 15 meters.[16]

An onsen hot bath is also planned to be installed in the upper deck in left field.[12]

Access[]

Currently, Kita-Hiroshima Station on Hokkaido Railway Company's Chitose Line is the closest train station to the stadium. In anticipation of the opening of ES CON Field in 2023, the west exit of the station is being expanded and a shuttle bus terminal is being added to provide access directly to the stadium from the station.[17] With the walk from Kita-Hiroshima Station to the stadium being approximately 20 minutes, a tentative plan to build a new station closer to ballpark with bridge directly connecting the two was announced in 2019. The earliest it could open, however, would be 2027, five years after the anticipated opening of ES CON Field.[18] The Fighters’ stadium is also expected to have parking for 3,000 to 4,000 vehicles, unusual for ballparks in Japan which generally rely solely on public transportation.[12]

References[]

  1. ^ "日本ハム 自前の球場建設を検討 収益アップ目指" [Nippon Ham considers building its own stadium, aiming to increase profits]. NHK (in Japanese). May 24, 2016. Archived from the original on May 27, 2016. Retrieved July 4, 2021.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "日本ハム新球場、８年後完成目指し球団が建設検討" [Nippon Ham Baseball Team Considering Construction of New Stadium to be Completed in Eight Years]. Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). May 24, 2016. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Fighters choose Kitahiroshima for new ballpark site". The Japan Times. Kyodo News. March 26, 2018. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  4. ^ "日ハム、自前球場検討 本拠地移転、北大構内など候補" [Nippon Ham considers relocating its home stadium, Hokkaido University campus and other candidates]. Mainichi Shimbun (in Japanese). May 25, 2016. Archived from the original on August 30, 2016. Retrieved July 4, 2021.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. ^ "日本ハム 球団と本社、新球場で作業部会 １８年３月までに方向性" [Nippon Ham baseball team and parent company, new ballpark taskforce to have course of action by March 2018]. Sports Nippon (in Japanese). December 19, 2016. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  6. ^ "北広島市が日ハム誘致案 新球場構想" [Kitahiroshima attempts to lure Nippon Ham Baseball with its new ballpark concept]. Hokkaido Shimbun (in Japanese). December 20, 2016. Archived from the original on December 27, 2016. Retrieved July 9, 2021.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  7. ^ "札幌市、市外移転回避へ作戦変更 日ハムの新球場構想 用地探し急ぐ" [Sapporo changes strategy to avoid relocation out of city, hastens search for site for new baseball stadium for Nippon Ham]. Hokkaido Shimbun (in Japanese). December 21, 2016. Archived from the original on December 27, 2016. Retrieved July 9, 2021.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  8. ^ "札幌市が日本ハムに新球場候補地提案…北大一部など２候補" [Sapporo proposes new baseball stadium sites to Nippon Ham...2 candidates including part of Hokkaido University]. Sankei Sports (in Japanese). April 13, 2017. Archived from the original on July 11, 2017. Retrieved July 9, 2021.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  9. ^ "日本ハム、札幌市の新球場２候補地に見解「岐路に」" [Nippon Ham's view on Sapporo's two proposed new stadium sites: "At a crossroads"]. Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). October 25, 2017. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  10. ^ "真駒内公園に日ハム新球場、札幌市が正式提案" [Sapporo officially proposes new stadium for Nippon Ham at Makomanai Park]. The Nikkei (in Japanese). December 16, 2017. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b c "北広島市に米国流「ボールパーク」 日本ハム23年開業" [U.S.-style 'ball park' to open in Kitahiroshima City; Nippon Ham to open in 2023]. The Nikkei (in Japanese). March 26, 2018. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e "Fighters reveal general plans for new retractable-roof ballpark". The Japan Times. Kyodo News. November 6, 2018. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  13. ^ "Notice on Acquisition of Naming Rights to New Ballpark of Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters - To Be Named ES-CON FIELD HOKKAIDO" (PDF). ES-CON Japan. 29 January 2020. Retrieved 2020-03-29.
  14. ^ "Announcement on the official names of the new ballpark and its surrounding district". 29 January 2020. Retrieved 2020-03-29.
  15. ^ "「エスコン フィールド HOKKAIDO」の建設予定地で起工式" (in Japanese). Fighters. 13 April 2020.
  16. ^ "23年開業　日本ハム、夢の新球場　日本初開閉式の天然芝球場　既成概念を覆す構成とは――" [Opening in 2023, Japan's first retractable roof, natural grass stadium, Nippon Ham's new, dream baseball stadium defies conventional thinking]. Sports Nippon (in Japanese). March 29, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  17. ^ "北広島駅西口整備へ、市が不動産会社と協定 来春着工" [City signs agreement with real estate company to develop west exit of Kitahiroshima Station; construction to begin next spring]. The Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). March 31, 2021. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  18. ^ "日ハム新球場近くに新駅建設へ、JR北��道と北広島市" [JR Hokkaido and Kitahiroshima to build a new station near the new stadium of Nippon Ham]. The Nikkei (in Japanese). December 11, 2019. Retrieved July 10, 2021.

External links[]

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