The South Korean city of Jecheon has cancelled its plan to build an esports arena, deciding instead to put the money toward general support programmes for young people.
Planned for a public parking lot in the city’s Myeongdong area, the $22.5 million (30 billion won) arena was ultimately scrapped due to cost concerns. Jecheon would have had to fund 24 billion won of the construction bill independently, followed by ongoing annual maintenance and operational expenses.
Apart from that, the council also mentioned that the arena had originally been designed as a “multiplex”, meaning it would have doubled as a movie theatre alongside its esports facilities. Since local movie theatres have reopened on their own, the city said this reduced the need for that part of the project.
City officials further justified the cancellation by alleging a broader shift toward online esports consumption, claiming that declining demand for live attendance made a dedicated facility unnecessary.
A Jecheon City official confirmed that the project was still in the planning phase when it was cancelled, meaning no construction work had begun. Because of this, the city says it did not lose any money on unfinished building work. The only money spent on the project so far was about 80 million won (around $60,000), which went toward a feasibility study to assess whether the arena was worth building.
The city council says it now plans to redirect the budget that had been set aside for the arena toward practical welfare and support policies that reach a wider range of young people in the city, rather than funding aimed at specific groups or sectors.
While Jecheon has moved away from public funding for esports venues of this kind, China, another major esports market, has continued to see dedicated esports facilities funded through private investment. In March 2026, Chinese esports organisation Chongqing Wolves opened a new arena in Chongqing, backed by roughly 200 million CNY (about $27–28 million USD). Around the same time, Invictus Gaming (iG) investor Zhang Haohan announced the opening of the organisation’s new home venue in Shanghai’s Putuo District, a $20 million project that was entirely privately funded. The Esports Radar analysed these and other developments in our newsletter Heat Map.
