It has been confirmed that Goyang Carrot CEO Heo Jae, who is looking for a new acquisition company after one season of founding due to financial difficulties of the parent group, recently visited Pohang City.
Summarizing News 1 coverage until the 20th, CEO Huh met with an official from Pohang City Hall somewhere on the 6th, when Carrot and Ulsan Hyundai Mobis’ playoff (PO) was in progress.
It is reported that the two sides exchanged stories about the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) at the meeting.
Carrot is a team re-established by inheriting the homeland and players of Goyang Orion, which ended team operation at the end of last season.
Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd. guaranteed the payment of operating expenses, and Day One Sports, a subsidiary, was in charge of operation. Afterwards, they signed a naming sponsor contract with Carrot Insurance and named the team Carrot Jumpers.
Carrot made an ambitious start by recruiting former national team coach Heo Jae as CEO and appointing coach Kim Seung-gi, who had a successful career at Anyang KGC, as the head coach.
However, as Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering went into court management due to financial difficulties, the club could not operate properly. From the end of last year, the salaries of the players and staff began to be delayed, and even the food support for the players was cut off.
Carrot finished the 2022-23 season in 5th place, but until the middle of last month, he was unable to pay the balance of the subscription fee (1 billion won) to the Korea Professional Basketball League (KBL), so he almost could not go to the PO due to’under-conditions’ even after achieving results. The subscription fee was barely paid just before the payment deadline, but the salaries of the players are still several months behind.
The Carrot club, which can no longer expect support from the parent company, started looking for new acquisition companies from the beginning of this year, and some large companies and small and medium-sized companies were mentioned in the process.
In particular, rumors spread that it could move to Pohang and sign an acquisition contract with company A based in the area.
In this situation, as it was confirmed that CEO Heo recently met with a Pohang city official, there are observations that Carrot’s new hometown is slowly revealing its outline.
Currently, football (Pohang Steelers) is the only professional sport that is based in Pohang. The baseball team Samsung Lions uses Pohang as its second home, but only six games are held in Pohang a year.
Accordingly, it is reported that Pohang City is positively accepting the attraction of a basketball team in terms of providing another leisure life to citizens.
If Carrot actually moves to Pohang, there is a high possibility that he will use the Pohang Indoor Gymnasium. Opened in 1984 in Nam-gu, Pohang, the gym was remodeled in 2017 with a budget of 10 billion won, including government funds. 메이저사이트
There is an evaluation that the facilities are insufficient to hold a professional basketball game, but Pohang City even expressed an intention to remodel if a professional basketball team is to be attracted.
An official from Pohang City said, “There was a discussion with CEO Huh about the parts that can cooperate with each other.”
Carrot’s side also admitted that CEO Huh visited Pohang.
In order for Pohang City to attract a new basketball team, various procedures, such as the approval of the city council, are required, but judging from the air flow so far, there is a prospect that the relocation will be decided as early as next month.
On the other hand, Carrot, who showed fighting spirit despite the abnormal club management, rose from the PO of the 6th round to the 4th round, surpassing Hyundai Mobis, but failed to advance to the championship match due to the series record of 1 win and 3 losses to Anyang KGC.