Masan has become a suburb of Busan, or is part of the greater metropolitan area, similar to Yokohama's relationship to Tokyo or San Jose's relationship to San Francisco. It has its own KBO baseball team, the NC Dinos.
The Dinos got their start last year, and the "NC" part of their name refers to NCsoft, an online-gaming company that has been very successful.
Right now, they're playing in Masan Stadium, which was an okay place to see a game. Views aren't really perfect everywhere due to the angling of the seats, but you are pretty close to the action near the front.
The outfield is pretty standard, but the two humps on the first and third base sides in the seats are interesting to say the least. The stadium was recently refurbished and looks good, minor seating inconveniences aside.
Due to lots of rain earlier in the day and the Dinos being pretty new, the crowds were light. Food here is standard and there are several stands, though at busy games I could see lines for concessions being very long. You are allowed to bring in your own food, and this is where I first tried Korean-style fried chicken with the sweet chili sauce. Delicious, and sold at the entrances to the parking lots!
I arrived at the park quite a bit early, so I wandered around the neighborhood a bit. There's a multipurpose field next to the baseball field, and you are free to enter and use the track if you wish.
It is possible to walk to the stadium from Masan Station, which I did. It takes about 15-20 minutes. There are several buses too; ask at the visitor's center. They understood English, but I would have the name of the stadium in Korean characters (
마산종합운동장 야구장) just in case. I returned to Masan Station by taxi; there's a taxi stand outside the electronics store at the corner of Samba-ro and Yongma-ro (northeast of the stadium).
Definitely have Korean-character text when using taxis in Korea. This includes train station names and baseball stadium names.
I've heard a rumor that the Dinos are supposed to get a new stadium. I don't know if or when that will happen. Be sure to verify locations before you go.
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