BASKETBALL/NT$300 million in funding proposed to improve four baseball stadiums

Taipei, Dec. 1 (CNA) The Sports Administration intends to budget NT$300 million (US$9.54 million) to upgrade four baseball stadiums across Taiwan, the agency's director-general Cheng Shih-chung (鄭世忠) said Thursday.

The funding would be used to upgrade Rakuten Taoyuan Baseball Stadium, Xinzhuang Baseball Stadium, Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium and Tainan Asia-Pacific International Baseball Stadium, Cheng said.

All four stadiums are used by clubs in Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League.

"The pro baseball stadiums have reached the point in recent years where they have to be upgraded, and the government is investing a lot of money in this," Cheng said, noting that the program is focused on giving players quality fields and optimizing the fan experience.

The proposed funding is part of a NT$6.4 billion program put forward by the Sports Administration to strengthen Taiwan's sports environment by revamping the sports facilities of cities and counties across Taiwan.

Funding for the facility-enhancement project is part of the overall funds requested by the Sports Administration in Taiwan's central government 2024 fiscal year budget that has yet to be approved by Taiwan's Legislative Yuan.

According to Tsai Wen-chuan (蔡文娟), head of the Sports Administration's Sports Facilities Division, the NT$300 million funding for the four pro baseball stadiums will go to improving infield and outfield grass and stadium lighting and drainage.

It will also cover work on the stadiums' outfield seating, locker rooms and bathrooms, Tsai said.

Once the overall central government budget for 2024 is approved, the hope is that the project will be completed within two years, another Sports Administration official told CNA.