Following the closure of the 42-year-old baseball stadium in downtown Taipei, the Taipei City Government has moved into high gear preparing for the construction of a multi-functional domed stadium at the same site.
After listening to a briefing presented by the firm responsible for designing the project yesterday, Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
"Since there would be only 1,700 parking spaces available, the Bureau of Transportation and Communications needs to draw up a comprehensive plan in terms of traffic control and transportation networks," Ma said, adding that it may take at least eight years for the MRT Sungshan lin extension to be completed.
According to Stand Lo (
The reason for not providing more parking spaces, Lo said, is to encourage the public to take advantage of the mass transportation system to go to the stadium.
Ma also requested extra attention be paid to fire safety.
"The Fire Department of Taipei needs to work together with the National Fire Administration (
According to the design company, the smoke control and escape systems follow the fire codes and standards set by the US-based National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), in which the escape time allowed for a person in a 15,000-seat facility is five minutes.
Ma also pledged to make recommendations to the central government to change current laws in terms of allowing the establishment of shops within a sports stadium.
With the stadium's demolition slated to take place in December, the 30-month, NT$3.8 billion construction project is scheduled to begin in March next year. The stadium, which is designed to be a multi-functional venue for musical, artistic and sporting events, is expected to become operational in March 2003.
The road to building a domed stadium in Taipei has been a long and bumpy one. An initial proposal to build one new venue has now grown to three -- a 15,000-seat "mini domed stadium" at the location of the baseball stadium, a 25,000-seat facility at the Sungshan Tobacco Factory in the Sungshan district, and a 65,000-seat facility in Kuantu, Peitou district.
Taiwan moved clear of Mexico to be the only country at No. 2 in the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Men’s Baseball World Rankings. Meanwhile, draft bills to set up a ministry of sports were approved at a joint session at the legislature in Taipei yesterday. After previously being tied with Mexico for second on 4,118 points, Taiwan moved clear on 5,498 points after they defeated Japan in the final of the WBSC Premier12 tournament on Sunday. Mexico (4,729) dropped to fourth, behind Venezuela (4,846), who finished fourth at the tournament. Taiwan narrowed the gap to first-placed Japan to 1,368 points from 1,638, WBSC
GLOBAL SUPPORT: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the motion highlighted the improper exclusion of Taiwan from international discussion and cooperative mechanisms Taiwan yesterday thanked the British parliament for passing a motion stating that UN Resolution 2758 does not involve Taiwan, making it the latest body to reject China’s interpretation of the resolution. The House of Commons on Thursday debated the international status of Taiwan and unanimously passed a pro-Taiwan motion stating that the House “notes that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the political status of Taiwan or establish PRC [People’s Republic of China] sovereignty over Taiwan and is silent both on the status of Taiwan in the UN and on Taiwanese participation in UN agencies.” British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Parliamentary
HIGH ALERT: The armed forces are watching for a potential military drill by China in response to the president’s trip, with the air force yesterday conducting an exercise President William Lai (賴清德) is to make stopovers in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam during his seven-day trip to the South Pacific, his first official visit since taking office in May, the Presidential Office said yesterday. Lai, accompanied by a delegation, is scheduled to depart for the South Pacific on a chartered flight at 4:30pm tomorrow, stopping first in Hawaii for a two-night layover before traveling to the Marshall Islands, an office official said. After wrapping up his visits to the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu, the president is to transit through Guam, spending a night there before flying to Palau,
‘IMPORTANCE OF PEACE’: President Lai was welcomed by AIT Managing Director Ingrid Larson, Hawaii Governor Josh Green, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi and others President William Lai (賴清德) was feted with red carpets, garlands of flowers and “alohas” as he began his two-day stopover in Hawaii on Saturday, part of a Pacific tour. Looking relaxed in a Hawaiian shirt, Lai flitted around the US island state, visiting the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, Hawaii’s leading museum of natural history and native Hawaiian culture, the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency and the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor. Lai was given the “red carpet treatment” on the tarmac of Honolulu’s international airport, his office said, adding that it was the first time a Taiwanese president had been given such
RSS