Sports centers in New Taipei City will boast low fees and high-quality services
The first citizen sports center in New Taipei City, Xinzhuang Sports Center, is expected to open at the end of this year. At the city administration conference, Deputy Mayor of New Taipei City Lee Shuchuan said construction of Xinzhuang Sports Center is not allowed to fail. He also restated the determination to never lower its service quality while maintaining its low fees in the future.
Lee acknowledged Education Department’s report on accession of 13 sports parks and centers. Under such plan, there will be 5 completed, 5 under construction, and another 3 fully planned by the end of 2014. All these sports centers and sports parks in New Taipei City will be run by private operators and enforced the policy of “providing services on-par with Taipei City while charging no higher than Taipei City.”
According to Commissioner Lin of Education Department, the government will construct sports centers in regions that have population over 150 thousand with land shortage. For other regions that don’t qualify the aforementioned conditions, sports parks will be constructed instead.
Every sports center in New Taipei City will spend 3% of its yearly revenue to promote citizen participation in sports. All of them will be free to enter for citizens aged over 65 or with disabilities during designated hours; Citizens living nearby can also enjoy 20% off on sports centers’ parking fee.
After hearing the report, Deputy Mayor expressed his concern that New Taipei citizens might not be accustomed to the idea of paying to do exercise. Therefore, he recommended the addition of various facilities such as spring SPA and sauna, which could fuel citizens’ need to go out and exercise in sports centers.