With construction complete, the Taipei Dome has opened and is to host its first major international tournament this week, drawing great crowds and an exciting atmosphere.
However, the Taipei Dome has made news for issues such as leaks in the roof, incomplete safety reports and a lack of baseball games. Public opinion generally holds that Farglory Group — the company that operates the site — has been indifferent toward the issues, only addressing them after being pressured to do so.
Construction issues aside, the key to the Taipei Dome’s success lies in whether it can adopt a home team, as is the norm for major stadiums globally.
Nearly all baseball stadiums around the world have professional teams based in them, for example the Tokyo Dome, home to the famous Yomiuri Giants, or the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul with the Kiwoom Heroes, and the Rogers Centre, home to Major League Baseball’s Toronto Blue Jays.
At its performance evaluation meeting at the end of this year, the Taipei City Government should put securing a professional baseball team to adopt the Taipei Dome as a top priority, with attainment of the goal an indication that the site is operating as it should.
If the city does so, professional matches would naturally become the Taipei Dome’s primary events during baseball season from April to October. To diversify revenue sources, it is completely appropriate to arrange other commercial events during the off-season.
The Tokyo Dome, for example, hosts concerts, professional wrestling, boxing and figure skating outside the baseball season. The Gocheok Sky Dome, in addition to concerts, has also held e-sports competitions and religious events. The Rogers Centre has been rented out for basketball tournaments, Canadian and American football, professional wrestling and other events.
The focus at the Taipei Dome should be operating on a “baseball first” principle. As there are no baseball teams based there, fans created a slogan — “The Taipei Dome is a baseball stadium” — in hopes that those in charge would return to the site’s original purpose and host more baseball events.
Doing this and maximizing use during the off-season would increase the stadium’s utilization and revenue, thereby achieving its goal of sustainable operations.
Then there is the catfish effect: If a professional baseball team were to establish a partnership with Farglory, it could push the conglomerate to handle operational deficiencies, thereby increasing service quality and allowing for more efficient operations.
The priority should be to either secure a professional baseball team for the stadium or to encourage Farglory to establish its own professional team.
Accomplishing one of those tasks would not only improve the Taipei Dome’s reputation, but also make for a great success story.
Charles Yu is a professor and head of National Chung Hsing University’s Graduate Institute of Sports Health and Management.
Translated by Kyra Gustavsen
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