The Taipei City Government has asked Farglory Group (遠雄集團) to repair serious water leaks in the Taipei Dome before Friday next week, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said yesterday, following complaints that many areas at the stadium were leaking during two baseball games over the weekend.
The dome on Saturday and Sunday hosted two games in tribute to CTBC Brothers’ star Chou Szu-chi (周思齊) ahead of his retirement from the CPBL.
The games each attracted about 40,000 people, filling the stadium to capacity.
Photo: Screen grab from Lin Hung-ku’s Facebook page
However, amid heavy rain, many people reported water leaking on some seats, at the entrance and exit areas, and the parking lot.
The Taipei Dome constructor and operator Farglory Group on Sunday evening said it deeply apologizes to those affected by the leaks.
About 200 people were affected in each of the two games, and the event organizer immediately helped them change seats, the company said.
Farglory Group said it is conducting maintenance work on the roof panels and drainage systems, and before the repairs are completed, it would not sell tickets for seats that are likely to be affected by leaks.
Asked about the leaks, Chiang said he has asked the Taipei Department of Sports to strongly demand Farglory Group to immediately repair the leaks.
The city has also asked the company to submit a tiered improvement plan with dates and would require it to file weekly progress reports, he said, adding that the reports would be included in the evaluation of its operation performance.
Farglory has been asked to finish repairing the serious water leaks affecting large areas at the Taipei Dome before Friday next week, he said.
The Taipei City Government on Friday announced that Taiwanese pop diva Jody Chiang (江蕙) would perform at the city’s Double Ten National Day celebration at the Taipei Dome on Saturday next week.
Regarding minor water leaks at the venue, Chiang Wan-an said Farglory must fulfill its previous promise of finishing the repairs by the end of next month.
Democratic Progressive Party Taipei City Councilor Hsu Shu-hua (許淑華) yesterday wrote on Facebook that Farglory “shamelessly” boasted that only about 400 people were affected, but the Taipei Dome has been plagued by water leaks since it opened last year, and the sports department’s “order for improvement with a deadline” is only a slap on the wrist to the company.
The city government should establish an evaluation system for supervising Farglory under its contract, and legally end the contract if it continues to fail in its operation performance, Hsu said.
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