Taipei Dome could soon hold nonsporting events: Farglory

Taipei, Aug. 20 (CNA) The Taipei Dome could soon be able to hold nonsporting events such as concerts in the future, according to Farglory Group, the operator of the multipurpose complex.

In a brief statement Tuesday, Farglory said a fire safety verification test was completed and passed with flying colors earlier in the day, which came after a training exercise at the site on July 30.

Jacky Yang (楊舜欽), the company's deputy general manager, said the results of the test meant that the Taipei Dome has met the safety requirement for a review by the city government.

The verification test was contracted to the Taiwan Fire Protection Safety Center Res Foundation by Farglory.

Construction work on the Taipei Dome project began in 2012, but it dragged on for years due to repeated delays and disputes between the contractor Farglory and the city government. The stadium subsequently opened to baseball games late last year, setting attendance records in Taiwan.

Separately Tuesday, the Taipei Department of Sports said the city government has yet to receive any information from Farglory regarding its fire safety verification test for review.

In the future, if the Taipei Dome is to hold nonsporting events, Farglory will need to apply with the department, which will review the applications based on the city's Large Gathering Events Safety Management Self-government Ordinance, it said.

On Monday, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said the stadium could hopefully be ready to hold the Republic of China's (Taiwan) National Day gala in October, its first nonsporting event.

Lee expressed hope that the Fire Protection Safety Foundation could soon finalize its review later this month.