New training ground for a nation connects fans and players

Tenderstream member UNS has completed the Korean Football Park, a new home for the Korean Football Association (KFA) designed to shape the future of the sport and its next generation of athletes. As a project conceived during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic when most sporting venues were closing to the public, the park was viewed as a beacon of hope for the future of the sport and its supporters. The ambition was to create a place that could serve athletes at the highest level, while also giving football a broader civic presence. 

Located on a 450,427 sq m site in Cheonan, the venue will become a new home for the country’s national team, while also serving youth development, women’s football, and a public audience. The masterplan organises these uses into a campus with transitions between public, business, and private zones. At the heart of the site is a central plaza, which is adjacent to three key buildings: the sports history museum, the indoor stadium, and the outdoor stadium that is integrated with KFA’s headquarters. Bringing the global headquarters together with the stadium was a design choice that keeps decision-makers, coaches, players, and fans closely connected in one place.

The design responds to the site’s sloping landscape, which is embedded into surrounding mountainous countryside. A terraced topography helps establish flat playing surfaces where needed, and guides movement across the campus from open communal spaces to quieter private areas for players and staff. 

UNS worked in close collaboration with specialist partners from across stadium operations, sports science. and active technology, including Johan Cruijff ArenA and its facilities management team, drawing on decades of knowledge in stadium logistics, training environments, operational planning, and innovation.

Ben van Berkel, Founder and Principal Architect of UNS, states: “The completed campus gives Korean football a strong architectural brand identity, while also creating the conditions for long-term growth. It supports athletes with focused spaces for training and rest, and it gives supporters and visitors a meaningful connection to the wider story of the game.”

Lucy Nordberg
Tenderstream Head of Research

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