Koji Kawamura, president of the professional baseball team Nippon Ham, will retire in March this year.

Kawamura, who also serves as the president of Nippon-Ham's new baseball stadium management company, cited one of the reasons for his resignation as being punished for the problem that the size of the ground did not meet the regulations at the new stadium. .

This was revealed by the president of the baseball team Kawamura in an interview with the press on the 27th.



Team president Kawamura took over as team president in 2019 after serving as senior managing director in charge of the team at his parent company, Nippon-Ham.



After his appointment, he will also serve as the president of the management company of the new stadium "Escon Field Hokkaido", which will open in March this year, and will work on projects such as the construction of the stadium and partnerships with other companies for its opening. I have progressed.



On the other hand, regarding the new stadium, in November last year, it was pointed out that the size of the ground did not meet the provisions of the "official baseball rules" among the executive committee of 12 teams, , This year and next year's off-season, we were busy responding by presenting a plan for renovation work.



In addition, the parent company, Nippon Ham, has recommended that the operating company be disposed of due to this problem.



Regarding the reason for his resignation, President Kawamura said that he had completed preparations for the opening of the new stadium, which had been his greatest mission, and said, "With the disposition as one of the reasons, I will take a comprehensive look at this season. I have told Nippon-Ham that I am retiring,” and indicated his intention to retire as president of both the management company and the team.



President Kawamura will retire in March when his term expires, and his successor will be announced in the future.