[Miyagi Prefecture] Professional sports in Miyagi Prefecture, leading the Tohoku region! [Introduction to professional sports in the six prefectures of Tohoku]

Professional sports teams based in Miyagi Prefecture include the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Japan Baseball Organization (NPB), the Vegalta Sendai of the J League soccer team, and the Sendai 89ERS of basketball.

Of these, the Golden Eagles, as their name suggests, have six prefectures in the Tohoku region as their home base.

Therefore, I will introduce it in a separate article instead of here.

Vegalta Sendai (Soccer: Meiji Yasuda Life J League)

They are the first team in Tohoku to be promoted to J1, and are a prestigious team that has been in the top category for a total of 14 years.

He will be enrolled in J2 from the 2022 season and is aiming to return to J1.

What does Vegalta mean? What is the team color?

Sendai is famous for its Tanabata Festival, and the word ``Vegaluta'' was coined from the combination of Orihime (Vega) and Hikoboshi (Altair), which shine across the Milky Way.

The team's main color is Vegalta Gold, which is the color of a meteor and comes from the fact that gold was first mined in Japan in Miyagi Prefecture (Wakuya Town).

The other team colors, Vegalta Blue, represent the color of the galaxy, while Vegalta Red represents the desire to win and a burning passion.

The mascots are ``Begatta'' and his younger sister ``Rutana.''

In addition, the Cheerleaders, which has a history of 20 years, is the earliest of the professional sports cheer groups in Tohoku.

The eagle in the emblem comes from the constellation Aquila, where Hikota is located, and is said to be the eagle that brings victory.

Vegalta Sendai’s journey so far

The club's predecessor was the Tohoku Electric Power Soccer Club, which was founded in 1988, and the club name from 1994 to 1999 was "Brummel Sendai."

• 1999: The J League became a two-division system and joined J2.
• 2001: 2nd place in J2 and promotion to J1 for the first time
• 2003: 15th place out of 16 teams and demoted to J2
• 2009: Won first J2 championship and re-promoted to J1
• 2012: J1 runner-up, never finishing below 3rd place
• 2021: Poor performance, 19th place and relegation to J2
• 2022: Was in 2nd place at the end of the first half, but ends the season in 7th place
• 2023: As of April 23rd, 14th place with 3 wins, 4 losses, and 4 draws

Where is Vegalta Sendai's hometown?

Their home town is Sendai City and all of Miyagi Prefecture, and their home stadium is Yurtech Stadium Sendai in Nachikita Park in Izumi Ward, which has a capacity of 19,694 people and is the only one in Tohoku that meets the J1 license.
All of the audience seats are covered by a roof, so you can enjoy the powerful cheering as the cheering echoes, and it is also popular because it is conveniently located, just a 4-minute walk from Izumi Chuo Station on the Sendai City Subway Namboku Line.

INFORMATION

• Team name: Vegalta Sendai
• Office address: 4F, ​​Ryoshinki Building, 3-6-16 Honmachi, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture
• Phone number: 022-216-1011
• URL: Vegalta Sendai official website

• Home stadium name: Yurtech Stadium Sendai
• Location: 78 Nanakitayanagi, Izumi-ku, Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture (inside Nanakita Park)
• Phone number: 022-375-7800
• URL: Sendai City Official Website

GOOGLE MAP

Sendai 89ERS (Basketball: B League)

The 89ERS (Eighty-Niners) was one of the "Original 6" when the BJ League was born, and was the first to become a professional team in Tohoku.

It is said that of all the professional sports teams in Sendai, it has the largest number of young female customers.

After becoming a B League, it was relegated to the B2 East District in the second year, but it was runner-up in the 2021-22 season and was re-promoted to the B1 East District this season, with five games remaining. I have decided to stay.

What does 89ERS mean? What is the team color?

Sendai, my hometown, was born in 1889 with the implementation of the city system, and became an ordinance-designated city in 1989, the 100th anniversary of the city's administration, so the number 89 has become the symbol of Sendai. It was named ``89ERS''.

The main team color is Niners Yellow, the secondary color is Niners Black, and the team character is a male lion born on August 9th who aims to become a professional basketball player named "Tina".

Additionally, Tina's uniform number 89 is considered to be permanently retired.

Sendai 89ERS’ journey so far

The team has been active as a professional team since its founding, and was ranked in the top category B1 when the B League was launched, but was demoted to B2 within a year.

However, he has continued to perform well since then and has returned to B1 this season.

• 2006: Finished in 4th place in the 1st season of the BJ League, but lost in the first playoff game
• 2011: Due to the Great East Japan Earthquake, activities are suspended and players are loaned to other teams.
• 2016: The B League was established and started as a member of the B1 East region.
• 2017: Lost in the playoffs in the 2016-17 season and was demoted to the B2 East region.
• 2022: Participated in the playoffs as in the previous year, and decided to return to B1 by advancing to the final (B21 runner-up)
• April 22, 2023: Remaining in B1 with 5 games remaining

Where is Sendai 89ERS home arena?

Xebio Arena Sendai has a capacity of 5,000 people and is located in the dome building on the west side of Mori no Hiroba in Asuto Nagamachi, Taihaku Ward, Sendai City.

The dome building also has an indoor tennis court, a covered futsal field, a basketball dome, and dining facilities, while the Xebio building on the south side of the plaza has a fitness club and sporting goods stores such as Super Sports Xebio.

Unlike public gymnasiums, the arena has VIP seating and allows you to freely set up food and drinks within the facility, making it an arena that can accommodate a variety of events such as sports and live concerts.

INFORMATION

• Team name: Sendai 89ERS
• Office address: 1-4-30 S101 Asuto Nagamachi, Taihaku Ward, Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture
• Phone number: 022-281-8562
• URL: Sendai 89ERS official website

• Home stadium name: Xebio Arena Sendai
• Location: 1-4-10 Asuto Nagamachi, Taihaku Ward, Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture
• Phone number: 022-748-0877
• URL: Xebio Arena Sendai official website

GOOGLE MAP

Mynavi Sendai Ladies (Soccer: Japan Women's Professional Soccer League.WE LEAGUE)

This women's soccer team, whose home stadium is "Yurtech Stadium Sendai", the home of Vegalta Sendai, began as "Vegalta Sendai Ladies" in 2012.

Promoted to the "Nadeshiko League" in 2013!

He first participated in Challenge League 2012. They won all the games and were promoted to the Nadeshiko League in 2013.

Since 2017, a partnership agreement has been concluded with Mynavi and the name has become ``Mynavi Vegalta Sendai Ladies.'' When the WE League is launched in 2021, they will participate as ``Mynavi Sendai Ladies,'' a professional team with all members under professional contracts, and the club colors will be Mynavi. Available in 3 colors: Navi Blue, Sendai Green, and Star Gold.

INFORMATION

• Team name: Mynavi Sendai Ladies
• Office address: 1-1-2 Meidori, Izumi-ku, Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture
• Phone number: 022-342-1130
• URL: Mynavi Sendai Ladies official website

• Home stadium name: Yurtech Stadium Sendai
• Location: 78 Nanakitayanagi, Izumi-ku, Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture (inside Nanakita Park)
• Phone number: 022-375-7800
• URL: Sendai City Official Website

GOOGLE MAP　

summary

All of these professional teams in Miyagi Prefecture have experience competing in the top categories of their respective leagues and lead professional sports in Tohoku with their high-level play.

In addition, in soccer, there are club teams such as Cobaltore Onagawa who are aiming to enter the J League, and it is expected that professional teams in various sports will be born in Miyagi in the future.