City Unveils Site for Taipei City Tennis Center
During a press conference on July 13, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin announced that the city government will build the Taipei City Tennis Center at the site reserved for Baohu middle and elementary Schools. It is located on Minquan East Road (section six) in Neihu District.
The proposed tennis center will take up an area of approximately 5.1 hectares. Taipei City Sports Office (SPO) has set aside NT$4.5 million for initial planning and the feasibility evaluation slated to run between the end of 2010 and the first quarter of 2011. Construction works for the facility is expected to begin in 2012, with completion in the end 2014.
The complex will provide domestic athletes with a training venue for tennis, as well as a top class venue for holding large scale tennis tournaments. The city government believes that the new tennis facility will boost Taipei’s chances of winning the bid for major international sports events such as the 2019 Asia Games, the 2017 Asia Youth Games, and the 2017 East Asian Games.
According to the SPO, the tennis center includes seventeen outdoor courts and a central arena with capacity to seat 10,000 spectators. The agency is also evaluating the possibility of building an annexed youth hotel capable of accommodating 1,000 guests. These provisions will facilitate the government’s bids for hosting third-level or forth-level international tennis games in the future.
The Chief Secretary of Chinese Taipei Tennis Association (CTTA) Liu Chung-hsing indicated that the city government has been working on the project for a long time. The CTTA was invited to take part in a series of discussions pertaining to the plan. He is glad to see that a decision has been reached regarding the site and hopes that the center will help transform Taiwan’s tennis endeavors into a full-fledged, specialized industry.
