Tainan Municipal Baseball Stadium

Infobox_Baseball_Stadium
stadium_name = Tainan Municipal Baseball Stadium


location = Tainan, Taiwan
broke_ground = Japanese Administration Era
(exact date unknown)
opened = Japanese Administration Era
(exact date unknown)
closed =
demolished =
owner = Tainan City Government
operator = Uni-President Lions
surface = Grass
construction_cost =
architect =
former_names =
tenants = Uni-President Lions (CPBL) (1999-present) |

seating_capacity = 14,500 (1995) 12,500 (2005)

dimensions = Left Field Line - 339 ft (103.3 m)
Center Field - 400 ft (121,92m)
Right Field Line - 339 ft (103.3 m)

Tainan Municipal Baseball Stadium (Traditional Chinese: 台南市立棒球場) is a multi-use stadium in Tainan City, Taiwan. Situated in the southern district of Tainan City, it is currently used mostly for baseball games and has been the home stadium of Uni-President Lions since 1990. Chiayi-Tainan Luka also occasionally took this stadium as home between 1997 and 2002, when the Chinese Professional Baseball League and Taiwan Major League engaged in a heated competition.

History

Little is known about the stadium except that it was built during the Japanese Administration Era. The exact date of completion is unknown, and there is no recorded history except those in the memory of the elders. However, it is assumed that the stadium has been used for junior and adult level baseball games in and around Tainan during and after the Japanese Administration Era.

Refurbishments

The stadium underwent a series of refurbishment during 1970's, and the light poles were added in 1992, enabled the stadium for night time uses; however, because the stadium is located under the flight path of commercial airliners in and out of Tainan Airport, the height of light poles was limited and so the light poles are placed on the spectators seatings, obscuring the view of certain seats and also make the ball hard to see for outfielders when looking for outfield fly balls.In 1995, the second level of the outfield spectators seatings and elevators were added, making Tainan Stadium the first stadium in Taiwan to have more than one level and expanded the capacity to 14,500. The dimensions of the stadium were extended in 2003 from 380 ft to 400 ft in the center field and respectively all around the outfield, after it has failed to qualify for use of Baseball World Cup in 2001. The LED screen was also installed in late 2003, just in time for the World University Baseball Championship which was held in 2004. The latest refurbishment was done in 2005, when the infield seatings were changed to a more comfortable model; the Lions organization hoped it would make the experience of the spectators in the stadium more enjoyable, and thus would attend the game more often. This latest refurbishment also reduced the stadium capacity to 12,500.

The stadium is currently under the management of Uni-President Lions organization since 1999, although the ownership is retained by the Tainan City Government.

Major Events

The stadium was used mostly for domestic, inter-cities and counties competition, and saw some uses for international competitions. It hosts three CPBL's all-star games, as well as several playoff games due to its status as the home stadium of Uni-President Lions. On the other hand, the stadium also hosted several junior and pre-amateur level international competition, such as IBA Junior Baseball Games and the World University Baseball Championship games.

First professional game in the stadium: April 21, 1990
CPBL All-Star Game: 1992, 1996, 2007
CPBL Challenger Cup: 1994
CPBL Playoff: 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
World University Baseball Championship: 2004

Gallery

ee also

*Uni-President Lions
*Chinese Professional Baseball League