Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted Farglory Group (遠雄集團) and the Taipei City Government for not addressing safety issues at the Taipei Dome, with the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s Premier12 baseball tournament to start next week.
The Taipei Construction Management Office posted notices at the entrances to the Taipei Dome after the stadium failed the latest safety inspection on Tuesday. City officials also fined Farglory, which owns and operates the venue, NT$120,000.
Farglory has not received a public safety inspection certification, which requires the company to repair leaks and other problems at the Taipei Dome, and conduct crowd evacuation drills, as is required within one year of receiving its operation license, city councilors said.
Photo Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
Taipei is to host some of the Group B Premier12 games at the Taipei Dome and the Taipei Tianmu Baseball Stadium starting on Wednesday next week, along with Nagoya, Japan. Mexico is hosting the Group A games.
When the tournament starts at the Taipei Dome, baseball officials, coaches and players from other countries would see the notices at the entrances stating that the venue is not safe, Taipei City Councilor Lee Ming-hsien (李明賢) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) said.
“It would become an international joke, and would be quite embarrassing,” he said.
Lee added that Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) seemed unconcerned, inviting other city mayors to watch the games next week, even while city officials were issuing the fine.
The city government gave Farglory Group 10 days to carry out safety checks at the stadium, Lee said, adding that he wants Farglory to complete the checks and evacuation drills within two days, and pass an inspection to be certified before the tournament starts.
Taipei City Councilor Hsu Shu-hua (許淑華) of the Democratic Progressive Party said she joined the council’s Public Works Committee for an inspection earlier this week, when it found that water leaks had not been addressed, including at 100 spots affecting spectators and part of the playing field.
The venue also has major problems with its evacuation route, she said.
“Civil engineers at the inspection said the main issues causing the leaks were likely the welding on the roof and the poor design of water runoff troughs,” which would require extensive work, Hsu said.
The Farglory staff showed an uncooperative attitude during the inspection, were unable to answer questions asked by city councilors and could not provide a schedule for repairs, she said.
For the 100 water leaks, Farglory used tape to temporarily patch them, she added.
“It is clear that Farglory has been negligent and slow to address these problems,” she said.
At the opening Premier12 games in Taiwan on Wednesday next week, starting at 6:30pm, the Dominican Republic would face Cuba at Tianmu, while Taiwan is to host South Korea at the Taipei Dome.
The next day, Taiwan would play the Dominican Republic at the Taipei Dome, where it would also face Japan on Saturday next week.
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