Hou Yu-ih visits stadium design firm in Australia amid dome planning

Taipei, March 17 (CNA) New Taipei Mayor Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜) visited the Asia-Pacific headquarters of Populous, a global architecture firm known for stadium design, in Brisbane, Australia Tuesday to inform the city's decision on a site for the proposed New Taipei Dome.

In a press release, the New Taipei City government said Hou and his delegation held a meeting with Populous' Global Director Paul Henry, and heard a presentation on several Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium design projects from Senior Architect Nick Malyon.

New Taipei announced last year that a proposed 50,000-seat multipurpose domed stadium would be built in the city either in Shulin District or a Danhai New Town Phase 2 site in Tamsui District.

The final location for the stadium is expected to be confirmed in the middle of this year, following feasibility studies.

In addition to MLB stadiums, Populous also introduced their projects in Japan, South Korea and Australia to illustrate their experience in large-scale public construction projects in different cultural and market environments, the press release said.

The company's presentation showed how, starting with decisions in the design stage, stadium venues can "achieve both functionality and landmark status," and bring crowds into the community even when there are no matches scheduled, the city government said.

Hou departed Taiwan Monday to lead a delegation of local government officials and city councilors on a 10-day visit to Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.

The delegation plans to hold discussions with local governments on topics such as urban development, medical and public health issues, and water resource management.