Taipei: New Taipei Mayor Hou Yu-ih announced that the Shulin No. 5 institutional-use site in Shulin District has been chosen as the location for the proposed New Taipei Dome, a 50,000-seat multipurpose indoor stadium. Hou made the announcement after receiving the final site evaluation report from Sports Office Director Hung Yu-ling during a municipal meeting.
According to Focus Taiwan, the site was selected as the preferred choice following two rounds of scientific assessments and more than 70 meetings and evaluations by 23 experts from government, academia, and industry. The review process considered 26 criteria, including surrounding conditions, transportation, and long-term sustainability.
The site is strategically located at the junction of Shulin, Xinzhuang, and Banqiao districts, immediately south of the Shulin Civil Sports Center. The city highlighted the location's strong transportation links, including Provincial Highway No. 65, connections to National Freeway No. 1 and No. 3, proximity to Taiwan Railway's Shulin Station, and a planned station on the Wanda-Zhonghe-Shulin MRT Line. These transport connections are expected to safely and efficiently disperse up to 50,000 spectators after major sporting events and concerts.
The city plans to acquire approximately 9 hectares of land for the project through zone expropriation, allowing greater control over the stadium's development and surrounding commercial and industrial areas, thereby reducing development uncertainty. The broader site spans about 23 hectares, designated as a sports industry park, with at least 10 hectares allocated for the dome itself.
The population within a 30-minute travel radius of the site is projected to exceed 2.6 million, which is expected to provide strong consumer demand and support commercial operations even outside the sporting season. Mayor Hou emphasized that the project will transcend the traditional concept of a sports stadium by integrating sporting events with concerts, cultural performances, tourism, recreation, and commercial facilities, creating a new urban hub for New Taipei.
Preparatory work is anticipated to take about five years, with construction scheduled to begin in 2032. Hou, noting that the project would extend beyond his term in office, expressed his trust in its completion by his successors.