Crowd control at the Taipei Dome’s first official event on Sunday went smoothly, with the surrounding streets cleared of 16,647 spectators 30 minutes after Taiwan won its Asian Baseball Championship opener against South Korea 4-0.
After the final out of the game at about 8:30pm, staffers holding signboards guided the crowd toward exits, while about 10 police officers directed traffic at nearby intersections.
With the help of free shuttle buses ferrying spectators away from the stadium on six routes, the area was largely free of traffic and crowds by 9pm.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
Some supporters said it was easy to find exits, but many said they had no idea there were free shuttles that would take them to Taipei Main Station and Zhongxiao Fuxing MRT Station.
A crowd near Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall MRT Station, the closest station to the Taipei Dome, had largely dispersed 25 minutes after the game ended, as trains were running every 2.5 minutes.
A couple in their 70s who have been baseball supporters for many years said the experience at the game was great.
The couple, who live in Taoyuan, said they wanted to leave the Taipei Dome quickly after the game and were satisfied with the signs directing them out of the stadium.
However, a supporter identified as Chou (周), who also lives in Taoyuan, said that because most of the signs were held by staffers, the task would become more challenging with bigger crowds.
Chou said that more signs should be installed at the entrances to the stadium.
A baseball fan surnamed Pai (白) said he rode to the Taipei Dome from Xinyi District (信義) on a YouBike, adding that the police did a great job directing crowds.
Also among the attendees was Taipei City Councilor Wang Hsin-yi (王欣儀).
She said that the 3,000 staffers on hand ensured the crowd departed the stadium smoothly.
During yesterday’s game between the Philippines and Thailand, the indoor stadium sprung a leak, sending water streaming down the left field line, which operator Farglory Group attributed to poorly connected water pipes.
Meanwhile, an alarm went off during the game, which it said was due to ongoing work on the unfinished basement.
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