《TAIPEI TIMES》 New Dome eyes Asian baseball champs

LAST PHASE? Taipei is hoping to finish the stadium in time for the December games, but a councilor said it has yet to address issues such as congestion and light pollution

By Hsu Cheng-yang and Jason Pan / Staff reporters

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The Asian Baseball Championship in December could be the first game to be played at the Taipei Dome if the long-delayed project, currently undergoing final inspection, obtains an operating license next month.

Prior to its official opening, at least one regular game must be held in November as a trial to test field conditions, lighting, ground quality, seating and other facilities, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Shu-

chuan （李四川） said yesterday.

The Taipei Highwealth club, on the amateur baseball circuit, is set for the trial game and is still seeking another team to play against in November.

The Taipei Dome still has to undergo final fire safety and emergency evacuation drills before final approval for its builder and operator, Farglory Group, can be granted an operating license, Lee said.

Chinese Taipei Baseball Association （CTBA） secretary-general Richard Lin （林宗成） yesterday confirmed that the Taipei Dome would be Taiwan’s main venue for the 30th Asian Baseball Championship, and it had invited Japanese baseball legend Sadaharu Oh （王貞治） to inaugurate the stadium.

“Opening the Taipei Dome will be an important chapter for Taiwan baseball. We have especially invited Sadaharu Oh and have received his promise to attend,” Lin said.

The new stadium would have to be tested for its main control system and sound broadcasting equipment, when fire warning signals are lit to start evacuation procedures, said Wang Hung-shiang （王泓翔）, head of the Taipei Department of Sports.

For the trial game, experts and administrators from the CTBA and the CPBL have been invited to monitor every aspect of the ballpark, and to check if more work needs to be done or any problem needs to be fixed, Wang said.

Meanwhile, Democratic Progressive Party Taipei City Councilor Chien Shu-pei （簡舒培） cited several issues that still need to be addressed, including traffic congestion when the Dome holds major events and the serious light pollution affecting classrooms at Taipei Municipal Guangfu Elementary School across the street.

The city government has ignored the light pollution, which would become more serious when major concerts are held at the Dome, as this aspect is covered under provisions of the Building Technical Regulations, but Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an （蔣萬安） and city officials have ignored these issues so far, she said.

“Road congestion and traffic gridlock are major issues, but the city and Farglory have not carried out stress testing. Again, the city is giving Farglory a free pass, to help fast-track its license, while ignoring the potential danger to residents,” she added.

Chen Shih-hao （陳世浩）, deputy director of the Taipei Dome Preparatory Office, said that work on reducing light pollution should be done by the end of this month.

The light pollution measures cited in the building regulations are for performance theaters and assembly halls, and do not apply to a multi-purpose domed venue, he added.

If the Dome is to hold concerts in the future, Farglory will have to apply to the city government each time and present measures on controlling traffic flow, evacuation, trash disposal and other issues.

Additional reporting by Yang Hsin-huei

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES