Heroes renew sponsorship deal with Nexen Tires
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Lee Jang-seok, right, president of the Nexen Heroes baseball club, and Nexen Tire Corp. President Kang Ho-chan after signing a sponsorship deal at the Nexen building in Seoul, Thursday. / Yonhap
By Baek Byung-yeul
The Heroes baseball club has renewed its sponsorship deal with Nexen Tires for the next three years and will continue to be the “Nexen Heroes.”
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced the deal for the Seoul-based Heroes, Thursday.
Although the club did not disclose details of the deal, it is reportedly worth 10 billion won ($8.79 million) a year, about double its previous six-season deal from 2010.
Before this official deal with Korea’s third-largest tire maker, the Heroes were embroiled in controversy for reportedly negotiating with a Japanese money-lending company, J Trust Group.
When talks between the Heroes and the Japanese company were revealed last month, fans were critical. According to pollster Realmeter on Oct. 24, 64 percent responded negatively to the negotiations. The Japanese company sparked public uproar in September for hiring top actress Ko So-young for a television commercial. Amid public criticism, Ko canceled the deal.
Facing a firestorm of criticism, the deal between the Heroes and the financial company was dropped.
“I would like to express my gratitude to Nexen Tires for deciding to extend the main sponsorship,” Heroes President Lee Jang-seok said. “The two companies have seen tremendous improvements for the past six years and will continue to do better.”
Lee also thanked J Trust Group for proposing a “truthful deal not only for the baseball club but also to improve local professional sports.”
The Heroes are the only KBO club not owned by a conglomerate. The club joined the KBO in 2008, replacing the bankrupt Hyundai Unicorns.
It was first called the Woori Heroes, with the club selling naming rights to tobacco company Woori Tobacco. But the name Woori only lasted six months because the company failed to pay 2.4 billion won, which was part of the 12 billion won league expansion fees for the right to join the KBO. The Heroes then spent about 18 months without a main sponsor before inking a deal with the tire maker in February 2010.
With the renewal of naming rights, the Heroes will move from Mokdong Baseball Stadium to the country’s first domed baseball stadium, Gocheok Sky Dome, in Western Seoul, from next season.