Chungshan Soccer Stadium

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Zhongshan Soccer Stadium

Location	Taipei, Taiwan
Opened	1989
Owner	Taipei Sports Office
Operator	Taipei Sports Office
Surface	Grass
Tenants	Chinese Taipei national football team Tatung F.C.
Capacity	20,000 (Football) 40,000 (Concerts)
Field dimensions	300 x 184 m

Zhongshan Soccer Stadium, Chungshan Soccer Stadium, or Taipei Soccer Stadium (traditional Chinese: 中山足球場; pinyin: Zhōngshān Zúqíuchǎng), opened in 1989, is a multi-use stadium in Taipei, Taiwan. It is built as a soccer-specific stadium, but due to the lack of a professional football league in Taiwan, it is mostly used for live concerts or other activities. The stadium is able to hold 20,000 people for football and 40,000 for concerts. It is now managed by the Hope Foundation led by former athlete Chi Cheng.

1 Location
2 Temporary close
3 References
4 Gallery
5 External links

[edit] Location

Zhongshan Soccer Stadium locates in Zhongshan District, Taipei City, at the cross of Yumen Street (traditional Chinese: 玉門街) and Minzu West Road (traditional Chinese: 民族西路). Nearby is the Yuanshan Station of TRTS's Danshui Line (Red Line).

[edit] Temporary close

In March 2007, Taipei City Government announced that Yuanshan will be replacing Guandu Plain for the main venue of the 2010 International Garden and Horticulture Exhibition hosted in Taipei.^[1] In their plan, Chungshan Soccer Stadium, being one of the major parts of the Yuanshan area, would serve as the primary venue of the exhibition, featuring indoor activities. As a result, the stadium is scheduled to be closed on July 1, 2008.

However, the Chinese Taipei Football Association made a statement in its official site on June 29, 2007 to oppose the proposal.^[2] They stated that Chungshan Soccer Stadium is the only FIFA-approved stadium in Taiwan at present. If it is closed, Taiwan (Chinese Taipei) would lose its home ground and would not be allowed to hold international football competitions.

Though there are several ongoing construction projects of new stadiums, including Kaohsiung Stadium (traditional Chinese: 高雄國家體育館) for World Games 2009 and new Taipei Municipal Stadium for 2009 Summer Deaflympics. But both cannot be complete prior to the end of 2008.

On September 30, 2007, Taipei City Mayor Hau Lung-pin committed to delay the stadium's close schedule to the end of 2008 for hosting 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification and 2008 AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers.^[3]