TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) announced on Tuesday (Feb. 11) that the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL, 中華職棒) plans to test the box office performance of weekday games this year.
Tsai stated that the first batch of slots the Taipei Dome allocated to the CPBL this year fell on weekdays, but teams showed little interest, believing that weekday games would lead to poor ticket sales. The league is in discussions with Farglory Group (遠雄公司) to address scheduling challenges.
This week, on Wednesday and Thursday, Taiwan's World Baseball Classic (WBC) qualifiers team will play against South Korea in an exchange game at the Taipei Dome. The game will serve as a trial for weekday game scheduling.
Tsai admitted that this year and 2024's Taipei Dome schedules were chaotic. However, he confirmed that the league secured at least six games per team at the dome next year, with at least one team playing two rounds. The WeiChuan Dragons (味全龍), being a Taipei-based team, will have three more games than other teams, which will negotiate for any remaining slots.
Meanwhile, Tsai expressed support for Taiwanese player Lyle Lin (林家正), who signed with the Oakland Athletics and withdrew from the WBC Taiwan team. He emphasized that he would assist Lin in achieving his goal.
