Mihogaseki oyakata (former maegashira Toriaoi) and Takenawa oyakata (former sekiwake Torinoyama), who are in charge of the Nagoya tournament, appeared at the “Oyakata Talk Show” held at the Sumo Museum.
During the event, Mihogaseki oyakata explained the seating capacity of IG Arena, the venue for July’s Nagoya tournament. The arena can hold up to 17,000 people, but last year’s inaugural Nagoya tournament limited attendance to about 7,800. “What we want the audience to see is the physical clashes and the interplay of techniques, so we are very concerned about the distance to the dohyo. The fourth floor is too far from the ring,” Mihogaseki said. As a result, the fourth-floor seating area remains closed during sumo tournaments. “Placing a video screen above the suspended ceiling would also go against tradition. It’s possible that in the future, with the times, the fourth floor may be opened, but for now, it’s too early,” he added.
However, this year’s Nagoya tournament is expected to feature an increase of about 300 seats. In a post-event round-table interview, Mihogaseki oyakata revealed, “Last year, there were some obstructed-view seats that we didn’t sell, but when people sat in them, they actually had a view. We’re talking about the edge of the side-facing seats and the corner of the front-facing seats. That allows us to create an additional box.” The sub-arena, which was only half-used last year, will also be better utilized this year to expand merchandise and food and beverage space.
