Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium

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Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium
Location	Taichung City, Taiwan
Broke ground	February 1, 2005
Opened	November 9, 2006
Owner	Taichung City Government
Operator	Taichung City Government
Surface	Grass
Construction cost	$600,000,000 NTD
Tenants	Sinon Bulls (Unsure)
Capacity	20,000
Field dimensions	Area: 89,773 m² straight-away center field: 400 feet right and left field lines: 325 feet

Artist's impression of the completed stadium

Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium (traditional Chinese: 臺中市洲際棒球場) is located in Taichung, the third largest city in Taiwan. The first phase of the stadium's construction is nearly complete and officially opened on November 9, 2006 replacing the antiquated Taichung Baseball Field. The construction is basically finished with only some amenities yet to be completed. Located on the corner of Chongde Road (崇德路) and Huanzhong Road (環中路), it has considerably more parking available than the old stadium, which will be much more convenient for fans.

[edit] Construction

Construction on the stadium began in 2005 and is operating on the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model that is becoming increasingly common among public works projects in Taiwan. The first phase includes 15,000 infield seats, all with seatback chairs. The second phase will be financed with operating revenues and is expected to expand seating capacity to 20,000.

[edit] Major Events

The first major event hosted by the new stadium was the 2006 Intercontinental Cup, a baseball competition between eight nations from four different continents. South Korea defeated the Philippines in the opener 10-0, followed by Taiwan's defeat against Italy 3-13 on November 9.^[1]

It was announced on the final day of the 2006 Intercontinental Cup that the 2007 Baseball World Cup will be held in Taichung, with this stadium one of the two to be used for the tournament. It is also hoped that it will host some games in the 2007 Asian Baseball Championship, which is scheduled to be played in Taiwan and will also count as the 2008 Summer Olympics qualifier for the Asia region.

[edit] Sinon Bulls

Starting with the 2007 Chinese Professional Baseball League season, the new stadium is expected to be the primary home of the Sinon Bulls, who currently play many of their home games at the old Taichung Baseball Field.

[edit] Name Confusion

From the beginning of this project, the stadium has been known as the Taichung International Standard Baseball Stadium, and is still referred to as such by the municipal website.^[2] However, recent newspaper reports have referred to it as the Taichung International Baseball Stadium, (dropping the word "Standard".)^[3] A Chinese language schedule for the upcoming 2006 Intercontinental Cup has identified the stadium as the Taichung Intercontinental Stadium.

According to a recent report, the mayor of Taichung, Jason Hu, has announced that the name of the stadium has been officially designated as Intercontinental Baseball Stadium. This is in honor of the event being the first to be held at the new stadium. However, the articles are unclear as to whether Taichung will be a part of the name or not.^[4]

[edit] Miscellaneous

[edit] Stadium Firsts

First pitch in a competitive game at the stadium in a game between the Philippines and South Korea in the 2006 Intercontinental Cup

• First competitive game: South Korea v. the Philippines; November 9, 2006. 2006 Intercontinental Cup.
• First win: South Korea 10 - Philippines 0; November 9, 2006. 2006 Intercontinental Cup
• First mercy rule win: South Korea 10 - Philippines 0; November 9, 2006. 2006 Intercontinental Cup
• First nine-inning shutout:
• First extra-inning game: Taiwan v. South Korea; November 12, 2006; 2006 Intercontinental Cup
• First home run: Bradley Harman (Australia) (8th inning v. Philippines); November 10, 2006 2006 Intercontinental Cup
• First grand slam: Chen Yung-Chi (Taiwan) (7th inning v. South Korea); November 12, 2006; 2006 Intercontinental Cup
• First complete game:

[edit] Stadium Records

• Longest game: 13 innings - Italy v. Australia; November 12, 2006; 2006 Intercontinental Cup ^[5]
• Runs in a game (Single Team): 13 - Italy v. Taiwan; November 9, 2006 ^[1]; Netherlands v. South Korea, November 15, 2006 ^[6] 2006 Intercontinental Cup
• Runs in a game (Combined): 16 - Italy (13) v. Taiwan (3) ^[7]; November 9, 2006: and Taiwan (9) v. South Korea (7); September 12, 2006 ^[8]; 2006 Intercontinental Cup
• Runs in an inning (Single Team): 6 - Italy (3rd inning) v. Taiwan, November 9, 2006^[9]; Australia (8th inning) v. the Philippines, November 10, 2006 ^[10]; 2006 Intercontinental Cup
• Runs in an inning (Combined): 6 - Italy v. Taiwan (3rd inning), November 9, 2006 ^[11]; Australia v. the Philippines (8th inning), November 10, 2006 ^[12]; 2006 Intercontinental Cup
• Runs in a game (Single Player): 2 - Numerous times
• RBIs in a game (Single Player): 4 - Gino Lollio (Italy) v. Taiwan; November 9, 2006^[13]; and Chen Yung-Chi (Taiwan) v. South Korea; November 12 ^[14];2006 Intercontinental Cup
• Hits in a game (Single Team): 19 - Italy v. Taiwan; November 9, 2006^[15]; 2006 Intercontinental Cup
• Hits in a game (Combined): 29 - Italy (19) v. Taiwan (10); November 9, 2006 ^[16]; Australia (10) v. South Korea (9) November 14, 2006 ^[17] - 2006 Intercontinental Cup
• Hits in a game (Single Player): 3 - Numerous times
• Strikeouts in a game (Pitching Staff): 12 - Cuba v. the Netherlands; November 19, 2006 ^[18] ;2006 Intercontinental Cup
• Strikeouts in a game (Single Pitcher): 8 - Frank Montieh (Cuba) v. the Netherlands; November 19, 2006 ^[19]; 2006 Intercontinental Cup

[edit] Notes

1. ^  XVI Intercontinental Cup.
2. ^  臺中市國際標準棒球場 (Taichung International Standard Baseball Stadium).
3. ^  棒協關切台中國際棒球場興建進度.
4. ^  台中新棒球場啟用 更名為洲際棒球場 (Taichung's new baseball stadium will change name to Intercontinental Baseball Stadium) (October 20, 2006).
5. ^  Italy v. Australia.
6. ^  Netherlands v. Korea.
7. ^  Italy v. Chinese Taipei.
8. ^  Korea v. Chinese Taipei.
9. ^  Philippines v. Australia.
10. ^  Korea v. Australia.
11. ^  Cuba v. the Netherlands.

[edit] See also

• 2006 Intercontinental Cup

[edit] References

• 洲際盃: 11月台中開打 (Intercontinental Cup: Begins in November in Taichung.) 自由時報 (Liberty Times.) October 5, 2006. Page A10
• Development map published by the Taichung Municipal Government in October, 2005.
• (Chinese) 中華棒協肯定台中國際棒球場規模與設備.
• (Chinese) 棒協關切台中國際棒球場興建進度.

[edit] External links

• (Chinese) Webpage on stadium from Taichung City Government's website