Taipei Mayor demands quick fix for Dome’s problematic seats

TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) announced on Monday (July 8) that the city government has demanded Farglory Group (遠雄) address issues with the white seats at Taipei Dome (大巨蛋球場), which have compromised visibility during baseball games and led to incidents of "lost balls."

The issue came to light following a controversy over the landing spot of a home run during a game between the Uni-President Lions (統一獅隊) and the CTBC Brothers (中信兄弟), where the white seats reportedly obscured the ball's trajectory.

After the installation of these seats in July 2022, the city proposed using seat covers to mitigate the problem and consulted Major League Baseball field expert Chad Olsen. Despite some improvements, disputes over game decisions continued.

During the game, Uni-President Lions head coach Lin Yueh-ping (林岳平) protested, arguing that the "black, white, and gray interlaced" seats made it difficult to determine the ball's landing point.

In response to questions from city councilors, Mayor Chiang stated that the city had requested Farglory to install seat covers months before the dome's official opening, emphasizing that addressing this issue swiftly with seat covers was a priority. The city remains committed to ensuring fair play and spectator satisfaction at the Taipei Dome.