Yongin Special City Listening to Various Stakeholder Opinions on Bandabi Sports Center Construction
Yongin Special City (Mayor Lee Sang-il) discussed the 'Bandabi Sports Center Construction Project,' which is being promoted to expand sports infrastructure befitting the status of a major city with a population of 1.5 million.
The city announced on the 28th that it had derived cooperative measures necessary for project progress at a 'Yongin Bandabi Sports Center Construction' communication meeting held on the 26th to find a breakthrough for the Bandabi Sports Center construction project.
The meeting, held at the Yongin Disabled Sports Association conference room on the third floor of Mir Stadium in Samga-dong, Choin-gu, was attended by approximately 20 people including city officials, members of the Self-Governing Administration Committee of the Yongin Special City Council, the Yongin Disabled Sports Association, organizations for disabled athletes, the Yongin branch of the Korean Parents Association for the Disabled, the Yongin branch of the Gyeonggi Province Deaf Association, and the Yongin Disabled Independent Living Center.
At this meeting, representatives from organizations for the disabled requested △securing convenience facilities such as shower rooms and changing rooms △distributing usage times between people with and without disabilities during facility operation △creating multi-purpose sports spaces and competition hosting environments △implementing transportation measures including shuttle bus service for mobility convenience and securing designated parking spaces for the disabled.
Since the city confirmed that all participants agreed on the necessity of expanding sports infrastructure, it plans to submit the 'Bandabi Sports Center Construction Project,' which reflects the opinions expressed at this meeting, to the Yongin Special City Council Extraordinary Session to be held in September.
A city official stated, "The 'Bandabi Sports Center Construction' public property management plan was rejected three times by the city council, so we held this communication meeting to seek understanding and cooperation from stakeholders and to create a user-oriented sports facility," and added, "We hope the Yongin Special City Council will actively provide consideration and cooperation at the community level so that the Bandabi Sports Center, which tears down barriers of disability, can definitely be constructed in Yongin."
The Bandabi Sports Center is scheduled to be constructed with a total floor area of 23,700 square meters, including a parking tower, on the temporary parking lot site of Yongin Mir Stadium in Samga-dong, Choin-gu.
The city has secured 4 billion won in national government funding through a call for proposals from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for the construction of a community-based (disability-focused) National Sports Center.
The Bandabi Sports Center is a public sports facility designed for use by both people with and without disabilities. It takes its name from "Bandabi," the Asian black bear mascot of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Paralympics, and aims to promote community sports activities for people with disabilities and foster social integration.