BASEBALL/CPBL's all-star weekend to be held at Taipei Dome July 20-21

Taipei, May 13 (CNA) Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) will hold its two annual all-star games on July 20 and 21 at the newly opened Taipei Dome, the league said Monday.

The later-than-expected confirmation of the venue came after the league and the dome's builder and operator, the Farglory Group, were able to resolve a conflict over scheduling, CPBL Commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) said at a press conference.

"This year, we won't have to worry about it raining," he said.

The CPBL has scheduled a number of games at the dome this year, mostly on weekends, including its March 30 season opener, which was attended by a league record 28,618 fans.

The 40,000-seat dome in the city's Xinyi District formally opened last December after years of construction delays.

The stadium has also hosted basketball games in Taiwan's T1 League and a pair of exhibition games between CPBL teams and Japan's Yomiuri Giants, the first of which between the Giants and the CTBC Brothers attracted a crowd of 37,890.

For this year's CPBL all-star weekend, up to 30,000 tickets will be sold for each of the two games, though additional seats could be made available based on demand, Chang said.