We’ve seen skate parks and BMX tracks, racetracks and even areas where you go to traipse around with your RC vehicles. We’re not even going to go into the existence of cricket and rugby fields or facilities dedicated to other sports. But we never thought we’d see something of this sort dedicated to drones. That’s what DJI has in mind with their drone arena, which opens Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, near Seoul in South Korea later this month.

The facility looks to be one of the first of its kind (outside of event setups) and will feature safety nets and an LED circuit for users to send their drone through. Charging bays and a small repair workshop will be on-site as well, for those little mishaps that sometimes happen.

It will play host to workshops, group and individual events (which need to be booked) and also DJI’s New Pilot Experience Program. DJI’s 1,395-square-meter drone arena will also be used for advanced flier training and drone racing. This doesn’t sound a whole lot different to the kinds of places where you can train youngsters and have club, league and semi/pro events – pick your established sport on that one.

DJI Korea’s country manager Moon Tae-hyun said “We hope to provide a safe and fun environment for people to experience the technology first hand, whether they are skilled enthusiasts or someone who is just curious to learn. Best of all, the indoor venue will provide a space for people to fly all year round despite weather conditions outside.”

And if we see more of these showing up, it could mark the start of drone racing as a more serious sport. There’s already a world championship, with quite the prize pool. A few more places to train potential contestants would be instrumental in growing the sport even further. We’d be totally okay with that.

Source: DJI