Players must be wanting to eat home-cooked meals as well.”

The professional baseball NC Dinos are currently on a grueling road trip. They have not played a single home game throughout the month of April. This is due to the structural collapse that occurred at their home stadium, Changwon NC Park, on the 29th of last month. A Louvers, which is an exterior material structure, fell and struck spectators, resulting in the death of one person and one spectator suffering a collarbone injury.

An emergency safety inspection has begun, and a joint task force has been formed with Changwon City and the facility corporation. Currently, under the leadership of Changwon City, a Facility Accident Investigation Committee composed of external experts has also been established, and they are contemplating the reopening of Changwon NC Park after the emergency safety inspection. The urgent and thorough safety inspection has been completed. Based on this, a report will be prepared, and once approved via the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Changwon NC Park can be used again. However, this timeframe continues to get delayed.

NC is in a situation where there is no alternative. For the time being, NC had to leave their nest during the safety inspection period. Following the incident, the games scheduled for the 30th against LG and the games scheduled for the 1st to 3rd against SSG were canceled. From the 4th, a three-game series against Kiwoom in Gocheok, and another three-game series against KT in Suwon starting on the 8th, continue as away games. They played a home game against Lotte from the 10th to the 12th. However, it was merely a nominal home game; in reality, it was an away game. As they could not use Changwon NC Park, they played instead at Lotte's home base, Sajik Stadium. Since this was not part of the planned schedule, they could not properly secure accommodations.

The home games against Doosan from the 15th to the 17th were canceled. There were no alternatives such as changing stadiums, so the games were canceled. Following that, a three-game series against Hanwha in Daejeon from the 18th to the 20th, and a three-game series against LG in Jamsil from the 22nd to the 24th are scheduled, and from the 25th to the 27th, they will play a three-game series against Samsung in Daegu. The three-game series in Daegu was also supposed to be held at home, but since they could not conclude about the reopening, they agreed to swap it with Samsung's home series schedule in Daegu.

The players are struggling, and the front office is also under stress. They know it's a situation they must handle, but they can't help the fatigue. Manager Lee Ho-jun noted, “Although the players aren’t saying anything, they must want to eat home-cooked meals and those with families must want to see their children.” Amidst repeated stays in away accommodations, they have not been able to find proper training locations, forcing players to do swing practice in the hotel rooms of coaches.

Seo Ho-cheol stated, “It is true that all players, including myself, are struggling due to the continued road games, but it seems we are becoming more united. However, this is also something we have to go through.” He further explained, “All players wish to play baseball again in Changwon. The difficulty seems to help us come together even more.”

The problem is after the three-game series against Samsung in Daegu. The Facility Accident Investigation Committee, established on the 23rd, has begun meetings to deliberate whether to remove all Louvers from the stadium, which was the cause of the accident. The three-game series against KIA is scheduled for the 29th to the 31st. Although it is planned as a home game in Changwon, it has yet to be determined if this home game can be played.

NC is worried. They need a decision to enable discussions with KIA. Just like the upcoming three-game series against Samsung, they cannot agree to swap with the future three-game schedule in Gwangju. There is a three-game series in Gwangju in August, and if they were to swap schedules, KIA would have to endure a 12-game road trip in the sweltering August heat.

A no-fans game at Changwon NC Park or the nearby Masan Stadium is emerging as a strong alternative. There is also the possibility of game cancellations given that the stadium environment is still not fully ready. With the Children’s Day series against KT scheduled from the 5th to the 7th, NC is anxious. The players are virtually on the brink of an 18-game road trip, but there is no home to return to.

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