The globally-famous World Baseball Classic (WBC) tournament is returning to Taichung this month for the first time in a decade. Pool A preliminaries are scheduled to take place at the city’s Intercontinental Baseball Stadium March 8 to 12 and will include national teams from Taiwan, Panama, Cuba, the Netherlands, Italy and other nations. The hard-fought, entertaining competitions between sides to qualify for two places at the quarterfinals in Tokyo also ensure that Taichung will be baseball-crazy this month as everyone is welcome to attend games, cheer for Taiwan and experience the unique excitement and passion of international games.
A World Baseball City
Taichung was awarded the title of “World Baseball City” by the World Baseball and Softball Council (WBSC) in 2013 and has a wealth of experience hosting a variety of important international baseball events, including the 2013 WBC first-round preliminaries, Intercontinental Cup, Baseball World Cup, Asian Baseball Championships, Olympic Baseball Final Qualifying Tournament, 2019 Asian Baseball Championship, World Top 12 Baseball Championship and, most recently, the 2022 U23 World Cup Baseball Tournament. Together with the 2023 World Baseball Classic, these competitions have helped spotlight Taiwan’s baseball achievements on the international stage.
When completed in 2006, the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium was Taiwan’s first international-standard and first American-style baseball stadium. WBC organizer Major League Baseball (MLB) is now bringing this tournament back to Taichung for the first time in 10 years. In preparation, a MLB inspection crew conducted a site survey of the stadium and praised its high standards. Credit for bringing this major event to Taichung also goes to strong efforts by the Taiwan Baseball Association and Taichung City Government, which have helped position Taichung alongside other leading global cities like Tokyo, Miami and Phoenix that are qualified to host this major competition.
Taichung MRT cooperation promotes sports
In 2015, the CTBC Brothers professional baseball team made Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium its home stadium. In order to support the local team, the Taichung MRT Co. collaborated with the Brothers in the development and operation of the Wenxin-Chongde MRT Station, nearest to the stadium. With its “Mammoth Kandula by Brothers” theme, this station has become a popular spot for Brother Elephants fan gatherings in Taichung, and also symbolizes the city’s active promotion of professional sports development and sports as an important indicator of Taichung’s real power.
Eye-catching ‘Classic Girls’ cheerleading squad
Besides the exciting games, baseball cheerleaders have also become a popular spectacle at the ballpark. To support the WBC tournament, popular Brothers cheerleaders Qun Qun from Brothers and Mizuki Lin from Rakuten have assembled other cheerleaders from Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) to form the Classic Girls cheerleading squad. This attractive line-up will use their superb dancing skills to rally local fans in supporting Taiwan’s team to victory and a smooth advance to Tokyo.
March 5-6 WBC exhibition games
To help warm up and support the home team before the tournament, official exhibition games between Taiwan’s national team and CPBL teams will take place on March 5 and 6, respectively, at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium against the CTBC Brothers and Yunlin Douliu Baseball Stadium against the Fubon Guardians. Fans can either purchase tickets to watch the games at the ballparks or cheer for Taiwan via live broadcasts on MOMO TV, ELTA TV, Line Today, and CPBL TV.
Taichung Mayor Lu and the Classic Girls promote WBC games
Taichung: A World Baseball City
全球關注的「世界棒球經典賽(WBC)」睽違10年再度回到臺中，A組預賽訂於3月8日至12日開打，包括中華隊、巴拿馬、古巴、荷蘭、義大利等多支強勁隊伍，將在臺中洲際棒球場帶來精彩對決，爭取晉級東京八強複賽的兩席資格。3月瘋棒球，棒球在臺中，歡迎民眾進場體驗國際賽事的熱血與感動，一起為中華隊加油。
世界棒球之都
臺中市於2013年即獲世界棒壘球總會(WBSC)頒發「世界棒球之都」殊榮，具有舉辦多項重要國際賽事的豐富經驗，包括2013年WBC首輪預賽、洲際盃、世界盃、亞錦賽、奧運棒球八搶三資格賽、2019年亞洲棒球錦標賽、世界12強棒球錦標賽，以及近期的2022年U23世界盃棒球賽、2023年世界棒球經典賽等，讓臺灣棒球傲人成績榮登國際舞臺。
2006年完工的「臺中洲際棒球場」為全台首屈一指符合國際標準的棒球場，也是國內首座以美式風格為架構的棒球場地。2023經典賽睽違10年重返臺中舉辦，主辦單位美國職棒大聯盟(MLB)率隊至洲際棒球場進行場勘，大讚球場高水準，加上棒協與臺中市政府的積極爭取，讓臺中成為本屆經典賽具舉辦資格的城市之一，與東京、邁阿密、鳳凰城並列榮登國際。
交通運輸融入棒球 推廣城市運動風氣
2015年中職中信兄弟認養臺中洲際棒球場為球隊主場。為力挺在地球隊，台中捷運於規劃營運之初，攜手中信兄弟，將距離洲際棒球場最近的捷運站「文心崇德站」打造為中信兄弟「猛瑪•鋼鐸拉」主題車站，是象迷們到臺中必朝聖的熱門景點，也象徵臺中積極推動職業運動發展，讓運動成為城市軟實力的重要指標。
「經典女孩」應援超吸睛
除了精彩的賽事，場邊的啦啦隊也是不容錯過的嬌點。本次經典賽啦啦隊陣容強大，由高人氣的峮峮、林襄率中職5隊啦啦隊員組成「經典女孩」，要用青春活力high翻主場。高顏值的經典女孩們將以精湛舞技，號召球迷團結一心，為中華隊助陣，發揮實力順利前進東京。
經典賽官辦熱身賽3/5、3/6登場
為打造主場優勢，3月5日至6日「官辦熱身賽」將率先開打，分別在臺中洲際棒球場與雲林斗六棒球場進行，由中華隊分別迎戰中信兄弟與富邦悍將。球迷可購票進場，或透過MOMO TV、愛爾達電視、Line Today、CPBL TV等直播管道為中華隊加油。
盧市長與經典女孩為賽事宣傳
世界棒球之都－臺中