"Ulsan's Baseball Dream Realized"... KBO Grants Final Approval for Ulsan Pro Baseball Team to Join Futures League

First Local Government-Founded Professional Baseball Team in Korea
Ulsan to Join the League from the 2026 Season
Ulsan Incorporated into the Southern League
Both Northern and Southern Leagues Expand to Six Teams Each, for a Total of Twelve Teams

The Ulsan professional baseball team has finally secured its ticket to join the KBO Futures League.

With the final approval from the KBO Board of Directors, the first steps of this new team, reminiscent of the East Sea wind, have been officially confirmed.

On December 9, the Ulsan city government announced that the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) Board of Directors had approved the participation of the "Ulsan Professional Baseball Team" (tentative name) in the KBO Futures League.

As a result, the Ulsan professional baseball team will become the first professional baseball club directly established by a local government, officially joining the 2026 KBO Futures League regular season.

Ulsan has been expanding the base of professional and local baseball through initiatives such as the Ulsan-KBO Fall League and professional baseball operations.

In particular, on November 5, Ulsan City, the KBO, and the Ulsan Sports Council signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the establishment of the Ulsan professional baseball team in the KBO Futures League, officially declaring their intention to create the team.

With the decision for the Ulsan professional baseball team to join the Futures League, the composition of the existing league teams will also change.

Due to its geographical location, Ulsan will be incorporated into the Southern League, and the Sangmu Baseball Team (located in Mungyeong, North Gyeongsang Province), previously part of the Southern League, will move to the Northern League.

Accordingly, the Southern League will consist of KT, NC, Lotte, Samsung, Kia, and Ulsan, while the Northern League will include Hanwha, LG, SSG, Doosan, Goyang, and Sangmu, with each league comprising six teams.

The 2026 KBO Futures League is scheduled to open on March 20, with a total of 696 games-116 games per team. The full game schedule will be announced at a later date.

The Ulsan professional baseball team roster can be composed of free agents, up to four foreign players, and players who have played overseas but have not joined a domestic professional team, in accordance with KBO regulations.

Ulsan plans to complete the naming contest for the team and the selection of the general manager and manager within the year, submit the player roster to the KBO by January 15 next year, and hold the inauguration ceremony at the end of January.

Mayor Kim Doo-kyum stated, "With this approval for the team's establishment, Ulsan will have the opportunity to become a central city for professional baseball with its own official home team. Not only will all citizens be able to enjoy professional baseball at Munsu Baseball Stadium, but we will also build a virtuous baseball ecosystem where promising local players can grow in Ulsan and challenge themselves on the professional stage."

Ulsan City Hall.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.