Entering the "Dome Economy" Era: Revitalizing Local Business Through Sports and Entertainment - 臺北產經資訊網

Since its official opening, the Taipei Dome has become a magnet for baseball games, mega-concerts, and national celebrations, serving as both a cultural landmark and an economic catalyst. Its strategic location allows it to seamlessly link surrounding commercial zones and night markets, creating a high-energy consumer flow that has reinvigorated the city's eastern shopping belt. With strong cross-departmental support from the Taipei City Government, the East District has leveraged the momentum of the "Dome Economy" to upgrade its offerings and attract new foot traffic through curated events and marketing collaborations.

According to a study by the Taipei City Office of Commerce, the East District experienced a commercial downturn between 2019 and 2021, with peak storefront vacancy rates reaching 16%. However, as the pandemic subsided and the Taipei Dome officially opened, vacancy rates dropped by 40% by the end of 2024, clear evidence of renewed vitality. Between November 2023 and November 2024, the Taipei Dome hosted around 70 baseball games, including major events such as the 2024 WBSC Premier12, drawing approximately 1.4 million spectators. Total estimated spending related to these events reached NT$4.736 billion, the consumption in the East District also reached approximately NT$449 million—demonstrating how event-driven foot traffic can translate into real economic gains for nearby commercial areas.

Every time an event takes place at the Taipei Dome, the surrounding East District and Xinyi shopping districts see surges in foot traffic before and after events, fueling growth across retail, dining, and service industries. According to statistics from the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism, the National Day concert held at the Taipei Dome on October 5, 2024, led to a 30% increase in foot traffic and a 20% rise in sales in the East District. This clearly demonstrates the Dome's ability to convert event-driven crowds into tangible commercial revenue for surrounding businesses.

To capitalize on the strong crowds drawn by major sporting events, the Taipei City Government has actively integrated event planning with business promotion, such as by partnering with high-profile games such as the Yomiuri Giants 90th Anniversary Taiwan Series, CPBL Opening Day, CPBL All-Star Game, and the 2024 WBSC Premier12. Through exclusive shopping discounts and promotional campaigns, the city has successfully redirected fan traffic into nearby business districts, further stimulating the local economy. In 2024, the city issued shopping district vouchers in conjunction with multiple baseball games and partnered with designated merchants in the East District to encourage post-game spending. This strategy not only boosted consumption but also injected fresh momentum into the local economy. Building on the successful model from 2024, the Taipei City Government launched the "Home Run Taipei" campaign again in 2025. During the World Baseball Classic qualifiers, attendees who registered their game tickets via the TaipeiPASS platform received NT$300 in vouchers, including NT$200 for participating shopping districts and NT$100 for night markets. A total of 550 partner businesses benefited from the issuance of 4,000 vouchers during the two-week campaign. To further drive public engagement, the program also offered prize draws featuring round-trip airfare for two and autographed baseballs from star players. As a result, participating merchants reported a 7.59% increase in sales and a 7.57% growth in foot traffic. By combining "watch the game + shopping," this initiative successfully positioned sporting events as a dynamic driver of urban economic activity.

In addition to major sporting events, concerts have become another key draw at the Taipei Dome. According to a study by the Taipei City Office of Commerce, blockbuster concerts by Asian superstars Jay Chou and A-Mei in 2024 drew a combined audience of approximately 352,000 attendees. On average, each concert goer spent around NT$11,475, generating an estimated NT$4.034 billion in overall economic benefit, including NT$304.52 million in spending within the East District alone. To maximize the economic impact of these crowds, Taipei City partnered with local business districts to launch a series of retail promotions encouraging concert goers to spend in nearby shops and markets. One notable initiative was the "Dome Christmas & New Year YA!" campaign, launched alongside A-Mei's year-end concerts. Ticket holders could redeem NT$400 worth of vouchers, valid across nearly 600 businesses in the East District, Yongkang Street, and Ximending, as well as at night market stalls. This campaign successfully boosted revenue and foot traffic for participating merchants by more than 2.85%.

In addition to hosting world-class sporting events and concerts—and rolling out shopping district and night market voucher promotions—the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism and other agencies have actively expanded marketing efforts to increase exposure and awareness of local businesses around the Taipei Dome. By integrating the Taipei Dome into a broader tourism corridor on the east side of the city, which connects the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, and the Xinyi Shopping District, domestic and international visitors are encouraged to explore multiple dimensions of Taipei. This approach has gradually raised the venue's visibility and helped solidify the Taipei Dome's position as one of Taiwan's premier event destinations.

A key contributor to the Taipei Dome's success has been transportation infrastructure. To ensure smooth entry and exit for large crowds, the Taipei City Department of Transportation collaborated with Taipei Metro to optimize subway routes, including a direct 5-minute covered walkway from Exit 5 of Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall Station (Bannan Line) to the venue. For major events, the city strongly promotes public transit usage, urging fans to "Take the MRT, ride the bus, skip the car." To accommodate increased traffic, the city added 16 bus routes and partnered with Farglory Dome Co., Ltd. to operate 6 free shuttle buses with direct access to six key hubs: Taipei Main Station, Songshan Station, Taipei 101, Songshan Airport, Zhongxiao Fuxing Station, and Gongguan Station. To further encourage the use of public transport, fans attending events at the Dome with EasyCards (Taipei's transit card) enjoy a NT$20 fare subsidy on their MRT ride. These optimized transport strategies have greatly enhanced accessibility around the Taipei Dome. Even during large-scale events exceeding 50,000 attendees, the area can be quickly cleared post-event, significantly easing traffic congestion and improving crowd flow efficiency.

The opening of the Taipei Dome has not only revitalized surrounding shopping districts—it has unleashed a powerful wave of economic opportunity across multiple industries, including retail and dining, hospitality and tourism, and entertainment. According to Far Eastern SOGO Department Stores, as of June 2024, the Taipei Dome and its immediate commercial environment, including restaurants, retail shops, hotels, and entertainment venues, generate up to NT$10 billion in annual revenue, not even counting the broader impact on surrounding districts.

With shopping and dining peaks occurring before and after every major game or concert, many leading brands have rushed to establish a presence in the Taipei Dome Mall. Several well-known restaurant groups have established a presence around the Taipei Dome. These include "Star Hutong", a collaborative concept by STARLUX Airlines, Hutong Yakiniku, and VG TAIPEI; "SPORTS NATION" by SUNMAI Group; the popular fried chicken brand "Weekend Chicken & Burger Club"; and "CouCou Hot Pot", a brand under the Xiabu Xiabu Group. Even specialty retailers from Taichung are entering the market. In October 2024, DIWHY STORE, a handcrafted lifestyle experience shop, opened in a quiet alley in the East District. The store partnered with Jay Chou's concert series to target the concert's fashion-forward fanbase. Customers could redeem select merchandise with their concert ticket stubs, creating buzz and elevating the brand's visibility through event-driven marketing.

Large-scale concerts and international sporting events have drawn fans not only from across Taiwan but also from overseas, generating strong demand for local hotels and accommodations. According to the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism, Jay Chou's four-day concert series from December 5 to 8 attracted a surge of visitors, pushing hotel occupancy rates in nearby Xinyi, Daan, and Songshan Districts to near full capacity. With other major concerts taking place across various venues in December, demand for accommodations rose significantly citywide. Compared to the same period in 2023, overall hotel revenue saw a 30% year-over-year increase, underscoring the powerful economic impact that large-scale events can deliver for the hospitality and tourism industry.

In the past, Taipei's city center was often overlooked by global tours and major sports events due to limitations in venue capacity and weather unpredictability. Now, with the Taipei Dome fully operational, the city is well-positioned to attract international-caliber performances and competitions, signaling the rise of a thriving entertainment ecosystem. The benefits extend across the entire industry chain—event organizers, ticketing platforms, staging and equipment providers, merchandise vendors, and more stand to gain. Additionally, the ripple effect is expected to stimulate growth in team management, sports broadcasting, and sports marketing.

Looking ahead, development will continue with the construction of the Far Eastern Garden City and Cinema Complex, which will operate 24/7. This will offer the public a dynamic day-to-night experience: "Shop at the Dome by day, enjoy live events by night," bringing even more options to Taipei's growing entertainment landscape. As economies of scale continue to grow, industries across the board are expected to develop around the Taipei Dome as a commercial core, forming an interconnected ecosystem of retail, dining, hospitality, tourism, and entertainment. The rise of the Dome Economy is clearly redefining the commercial map of Taipei—boosting foot traffic, driving retail performance, and elevating the city's tourism profile. From sports-driven revenue and concert-related spending to local retail and accommodations, Taipei's government agencies will continue to proactively align and integrate resources—ensuring that every visitor leaves the Taipei Dome not just entertained, but fully immersed in the diverse charm that Taipei has to offer.