Taipei, Oct. 16 (CNA) A free ticketed baseball game is being planned as a test event for the Taipei Dome, which is scheduled to open for trial operations in November after over a decade of construction, a city government official said Monday.
Wang Hung-shiang (王泓翔), commissioner of the Taipei Department of Sports, made the remarks when asked about progress on opening the venue, under construction since 2012, at a city council meeting.
The Taipei Dome is expected to conduct a closed-door test event in early November, with a warm-up baseball game to be held in the middle of that month where tickets will be available for free, Wang told councilors.
Wang’s remarks come after Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Shu-chuan (李四川) said last week that the domed stadium had passed fire safety tests and was expected to receive its operating license in late October.
During Monday’s meeting, questions were also raised about the operating license and if concerts will be held at the facility, as the project’s main contractor Farglory Group is said to have not applied permission for such use as it is primarily a baseball stadium.
Chen Shih-hao (陳世浩), deputy director of the Taipei Dome Preparatory Office, responded that the dome’s usage should be defined in the operating license, which has yet to be reviewed by the city’s Construction Management Office.
The Taipei Dome is a multipurpose domed stadium and if concerts were to be held there, Chen said such activity would be governed by relevant regulations as stipulated by the Ministry of the Interior (MOI).
Meanwhile, Wang further explained that it is a sporting stadium that will be used mostly for baseball games, and for future events outside of that purpose will require separate applications.
For the time being, it is hoped that Farglory will prioritize the venue for baseball games, he said, while telling councilors that all necessary preparations are being carried out so that the Taipei Dome can also hold games for the upcoming Asian Baseball Championship, which is set to be hosted by Taiwan in December.
Construction work on the 40,000-seat Taipei Dome project began in 2012, but it dragged on for years due to repeated delays and disputes between Farglory and the city government.
