A “nearly 6 billion yen” miscalculation on Seibu’s part!　Tatsuya Imai’s transfer money is small and “Belluna Dome sealing is postponed”.

The cost of maintaining the facility is ……

A cold wind is blowing in the old home of Tatsuya Imai (27), who signed a major contract with the Major League Baseball Astros of the U.S. this January for a total of $54 million (about 8.5 billion yen) over three years.

The Astros’ executives initially expected to receive around 8 billion yen, based on press reports, for the deal, and they decided to make a major reinforcement, a rare occurrence in recent years, by acquiring Masashi Kuwabara (32) and Kazunari Ishii (31) from DeNA and Nihon Ham, respectively, through free agent acquisitions.

However, perhaps due to concerns about his high walk rate and the short time he had been active, the total contract value of Imai’s contract did not increase as much as expected. The actual transfer fee to the team is estimated to range from about $9,975,000 to a maximum of $11,325,000, which is truly a “major miscalculation.

Seibu is said to have signed Kuwabara to a multi-year contract with an annual salary of 200 million yen plus piecework, and Ishii to a three-year contract worth a total of 400 million yen.

The Seibu team apparently thought they could use the money from Imai’s transfer to repair the stadium and ancillary facilities. However, the transfer money is likely to disappear with the acquisition of two FA players and the funds for incidental conditions. For the past few years, fans have been calling for the Beruna Dome to be “completely sealed” to prevent the extreme summer heat, but this is unlikely to happen.

Off in 2007, when Daisuke Matsuzaka (45) tried out for the Majors, Seibu got 5.1 billion yen in transfer money from the Red Sox and made major renovations to the restrooms and vision in the stadium. It didn’t work out this time. ……

There is something else that is troubling management: the cost of maintaining the Prospy Training Center, an indoor practice field adjacent to the ballpark that will be completed in July 2019.

The practice field is said to be one of the largest of the 12 teams, with the same artificial turf as that used at the Verna Dome. There are five bullpen lanes and a dedicated zone with four batting lanes. Fans can watch practice from the deck.

While the training center has been well received, the Sayama Hills, where the training center is located, are known for their extreme heat and extreme cold, making the cost of air conditioning and heating ridiculous. The “Lions Academy,” which provides baseball instruction to children, is also held at the facility throughout the year, so running costs are high from morning until late at night.

The management team said, “We thought we would be enriched by the Imai money, but we have a mountain of management problems. I heard that the management is lamenting that they just lost their ace in the hole.

Will there ever come a day when players and fans can concentrate on baseball in a comfortable environment? ……