On the 13th in the Seoul Gangnam Riot Games Auditorium, a briefing session on the construction and operation of the LCK stadium was held. Riot Games announced plans to build and operate the LCK stadium, and had a Q&A session with the reporters. Riot Kr CEO Seung-hyun Lee and Sang-hun Oh, the head of e-sports business in Korea, responded.

Below are the questions and answers provided by Seung-hyun Lee and Sang-hun Oh.

¤ I was told that the LCK dedicated stadium will be up and running by 2029. Could you give us more information on this?

I can’t talk too much about the cost of the stadium. If we want to get the stadium ready for 2029, we approximately need a few million dollars. The equipment and interior alone will cost 10 million dollars. On top of all this, the management fee is not yet certain as well.

¤ What will the capacity for the stadium be? What will be your plans for stadium use when there isn’t a game?

The capacity is roughly 450 people max. We are planning to host amateur league games and etc. while there are no LCK games. The PC Bang and Cafe will be available for use even when no games are held. We will try to open small events as well. I hope it will be a sanctuary for eSports. However, I’m not thinking about opening game contests like Nexon Arena is doing.

¤ What is the broadcasting plan going to be? Do you have any thoughts on opening another league other than the LCK?

We are planning to create a diverse channel to broadcast in just like cable. However, nothing is set for certain as of yet. We are going to aim for allowing a vast majority of people to tune in. We have no plans on opening another league other than the LCK.

¤ When did you first start thinking about building the stadium? Was it a project idea from the head office?

The final decision to build the stadium was made a year ago. The process of thinking about building one was around 2~3 years ago. I wanted to give the players and fans an environment that will match the LCK caliber. The decision to run our own broadcast was decided very recently. The idea came from our Korean team, and our American Central team supported us with no hesitation.

¤ For the time being, the broadcasting companies have been supporting the production cost. If the LCK stadium is created and the support is cut off, will the other broadcasting companies stop the LCK broadcasting as well?

If the quality of the content is high, it is common for broadcasters to buy broadcasting rights. If not, it is also common to give broadcasters a subsidy to produce broadcasts. At present, LCK is not enough for broadcasters to buy broadcasting rights. We will discuss this with each other and agree on something in the near future.

¤ How much will the tickets cost for the stadium? Will the ticket revenue be distributed to the respective teams?

Regarding ticket prices, it has not yet been decided. As for current ticketing, there is still a problem of a ‘no show’ or additional problems that may occur. Since we know how important the experience of going to a stadium to watch games is, we will try our best to make sure none of these problems ever occur.

¤ You said there will be 450 available seats. Is there a reason for this?

We can make it bigger. However since it is a stadium for local leagues, we decided 450 seats is more than enough. We also listened to our fans comments and made the seats a little bit bigger.

¤ Where are you planning to host big events like the LCK finals?

We have no intention of using the stage for finals. We are just going to rent out a bigger stadium.

¤ Is there any other broadcasting entities outside the LCK that you are interested in?

We are keeping in contact with several other broadcasting entities other than OGN and SPOTV Games. However, nothing has been made certain yet.

¤ Are you planning to also open the stadium to the challenger series?

There is no plan to host any league lower than the LCK. However, if the situation allows it, it is possible. Since we originally planned to create a stadium for the LCK, there is still much that we haven’t discussed about other leagues. I think we need to review on this topic a little more in the future.

¤ If you look at the NA or EU LCS, there are designated casters and staff. When the LCK stadium is built, will the stadium also go by these standards?

I think we should start going about it one step at a time. We don’t think a specific model may be the answer. We will have to see exactly what we need and prepare accordingly.

¤ If you decide when the broadcasting will happen, does that mean the LCK broadcast times will change?

We will aim to make sure it is a comfortable and convenient experience for both fans and players for the broadcast time. We are going to conduct research on the best possible options during this and next year.

¤ Will there be any requirements and plans for teams/leagues to participate?

First of all, the existing professional teams have to be financially stable. We plan to mainly focus on that and support them however we can. Other than that, we do not have any other plans.