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Tienmu showcases baseball from Japan in game tonight

Vice President Annette Lu welcomes fans to the first professional baseball game at Tienmu Stadium, Saturday. PHOTO: JULES QUARTLY, TAIPEI TIMES

Japan's Daiei Hawks and Orix Bluewaves prepare to do battle tonight at Tienmu Stadium in Taipei, in the first Japanese professional baseball regular-season game ever held abroad.

Fans have welcomed back pro-baseball to Taipei with open arms after the game last Saturday between the Brother Elephants and Chinatrust Whales.

The decision by the Taipei City Government to open the stadium to professional clubs came after four town meetings and two urban planning board meetings held in the past few months.

To ease traffic congestion in the area, the Chinese Professional Baseball League hired 16 shuttle buses to run between Chishan MRT station and the stadium, providing free transportation for fans attending the game.

Fans going to the game on Saturday were positive about the service. "It's good for us, we can catch the MRT and take the bus to the game without worrying about where to park," one fan said.

According to Capital Bus, the shuttle-service provider, around 3,000 fans took the bus to the stadium.

Brother Elephants fans support their team. PHOTO: JULES QUARTLY, TAIPEI TIMES

To accommodate motorcycle riders, Tienmu Stadium opened its parking lot, which was originally designated for stadium staff to park their vehicles.

Takashimaya, the nearby department store, also opened its motorcycle parking area free of charge to game goers.

Parking issues have been the biggest sticking points at meetings to discuss opening Tienmu Stadium to professional baseball.

Hundreds of residents near the stadium were said to have been bothered by motorcycles and cars parked in front of their houses when the Baseball World Cup was held last November.

The league has also taken the step of banning the use of gas horns and regular horns in order to diminish noise from the stadium.

Some fans last Saturday "silently objected" to the regulations by wearing a mouth mask throughout the game.

A fan said, "We are here to watch a ballgame; we are not in a library. We are here to shout and express our emotions, what's the point of being so quiet when coming to a ballgame?"

The Whales won the first pro-baseball game at Tienmu Stadium by two to one, long before the 10pm curfew set by local residents to end the game.

Most of the residents said the night was not as bad as they thought it would be.

"The noise is not that loud and I see these buses running, which is a good thing," said one of the residents, who was working out in a nearby park.

The first professional baseball game in Tienmu Stadium drew a crowd of 7,800 people.

Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said after presenting the MVP award that more games would be held in Tienmu if noise and traffic levels were reasonable.

Around 10,000 fans are expected to attend the Hawks and Bluewaves game today.
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