Issue date: August 22, 2024
Issuing unit: Sports Facilities Division
Unit contact person: Officer Yang Jen-san
Tel.: 02-8771-1786
E-mail：d2580@mail.sa.gov.tw
Media contact person: Section Chief Hsu Jui-chen
Tel.: 02-8771-1954
E-mail：0183@mail.sa.gov.tw
To assess the overall maintenance and renovation of major venues for international events, professional baseball games, and training in Taiwan, the Sports Administration (SA) commissioned National Taiwan University of Sport (NTUS) to conduct the "Taiwan's Major Baseball Competition and Training Venue Survey" starting in June 2022. The survey involved visits and classification of 22 baseball stadiums across Taiwan. According to the survey, 6 stadiums were classified as Grade A (Rakuten Taoyuan Baseball Stadium, Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium, Yunlin Douliu Baseball Stadium, Kaohsiung Chengcheng Lake Baseball Stadium, Taipei Tianmu Baseball Stadium, New Taipei Xinzhuang Baseball Stadium), and 5 as Grade B (Tainan Municipal Baseball Stadium, Chiayi City Municipal Baseball Stadium, Hualien Baseball Stadium, Taitung Baseball Village No. 1 Baseball Stadium, Asia Pacific Baseball Subfield). Additionally, 11 stadiums were classified as Grade C and D, suitable for amateur leagues, third-tier baseball leagues, and community-based leisure events.
The SA stated that, in addition to visiting the home stadiums used by Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) teams, the plan also covered venues used by adult leagues and well-located basic baseball stadiums. The assessment focused on "stadium capacity," "administrative and competition-related facilities," "playing field conditions," "turf structure," "mechanical and electrical systems," and "civil construction." Relevant improvement suggestions were made. In recent years, all baseball stadiums have enhanced the quality of their competition venues and services. Compared with the survey conducted in 2015, the improvements made to each stadium have led to some evaluation upgrades (such as Tianmu and Xinzhuang up to Grade A; Chiayi City, Hualien and Taitung up to B). The current spatial planning of baseball stadiums is geared towards exclusive use for competitions, offering teams more professional facilities such as cold therapy pools, gyms, player lounges, storage spaces, and air purifiers. Professional baseball stadiums have also upgraded fan spaces, adding amenities like parent-child recreation areas, picnic spots, and barbecue zones to enhance the viewing experience. Additionally, the standards and quality of competition venues have improved, with upgrades like LED stadium lighting, smoother infield and outfield turf, and consistent grass seeding. These improvements not only align with energy-saving and carbon-reduction policies, reducing electricity costs, but also reflect increased attention from local governments towards stadium maintenance.
In addition, the SA has implemented the "National Sports and Competition Environment Optimization Plan" and has successively approved subsidies for Rakuten Taoyuan Baseball Stadium, New Taipei City Xinzhuang Baseball Stadium, Tainan Asia-Pacific International Baseball Stadiums, Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium, Taipei Tianmu Baseball Stadium, Yunlin Douliu Baseball Stadium, and will continue to help improve the deficiencies of each stadium to provide better quality competition and viewing quality.
The SA expressed its hope that this survey will help assess the current condition of each stadium and provide local governments with valuable insights for future planning and improvements. Moving forward, the SA will continue to guide and assist local governments in enhancing baseball field facilities at all levels, strengthening stadium operations, maintenance, and management to maintain facility quality. The goal is for these high-quality venues to foster the growth of professional baseball in Taiwan while also laying a solid foundation for the development of grassroots baseball.