Tainan Asia-Pacific Baseball Stadium Vendor Dispute: Tsai Chi-chang Suggests OT for a Win-Win

The main stadium of the Tainan Asia-Pacific International Baseball Training Center joined the CPBL regular season venues this year. After the local professional baseball team, Uni-President 7-ELEVEn Lions, held their home opener at the Asia-Pacific main stadium at the end of March, a dispute arose over the operation of external vendors outside the stadium. Subsequently, the Tainan City Government issued a press release stating that the Sports Bureau accelerated the procurement process, publicly inviting bids for external vendors from April 2nd to 7th. This again sparked discussion, with questions raised about the short bidding period coinciding with the Qingming holiday, leading to suspicions of pre-determined outcomes. CPBL President Tsai Chi-chang stated that he contacted Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che immediately after the incident. He understands the city government's position that legal procedures must be followed and hopes that the Tainan City Government and the Uni-President Lions team can communicate more to avoid many misunderstandings. Tsai Chi-chang also offered suggestions for the problem. Instead of the current "daily rental" method, where the team can only use the internal space, leading to significantly insufficient catering services that cannot meet the needs of fans, he believes that OT (Operate-Transfer) might be the best approach. The Uni-President Lions team would also be more willing to invest in hardware and software, operating their home stadium to demonstrate their connection with the local community. Regarding the short bidding period for vendor recruitment, Tsai Chi-chang mentioned that it could be handled like the opening game, using a temporary event approach to see if the bidding period can be extended, avoiding concerns of favoritism among fans. This might also be a viable option. Tsai Chi-chang frankly stated, "OT is the long-term cause, and the vendor dispute is the trigger point." The league has no right to make decisions; it can only understand what problems have occurred and offer suggestions. It is currently uncertain whether there will be vendors at the Asia-Pacific Baseball Stadium professional baseball games on the 10th. Tsai Chi-chang emphasized that if both parties believe daily rental is a good method, the league has no objection. However, fans are the foundation of professional baseball development, and a well-developed local professional baseball team greatly helps Tainan's urban marketing. He hopes everyone can cooperate and communicate well, expand the pie, benefiting the city government, the team, and the fans. He hopes a legal and triple-win solution can be discussed, so Uni-President does not become a "wandering lion" again. (Edited by Chang Ya-ching) 1150407