TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The crowd surge in Seoul’s Itaewon that killed over 150 on Saturday (Oct. 29) has thrown a spotlight on the safety measures for Taipei Dome, a 40,000-seat stadium set to open in 2023.

In the wake of the tragedy, Farglory Group, the developer of the project, has been asked to review the stadium’s evacuation plans and ensure a cap of 59,833 visitors will be put in place for crowd control, said Chen Shih-hao (陳世浩), deputy director of the Taipei Dome Preparatory Office on Sunday (Oct. 30).

The city will increase the presence of traffic officers around the dome after it opens, he said. A recent audit also requested that staff members be equipped with evacuation know-how and conduct regular drills, CNA quoted him as saying.

Taipei implemented a crowd safety rule in 2018. It requires organizers that hold events with over 1,000 people and last more than two hours to submit a safety management plan in advance, including for concerts, exhibitions, and folk festivities.

For example, police and Taipei Metro personnel arrangements are carried out long before the year-end New Year’s Eve bash around Taipei City Hall and Taipei 101, a major event that attracts around 400,000 to 500,000 revelers.

The Taipei Dome project has become ensnared in disputes between Farglory and Mayor Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) administration since he took office in 2014, resulting in a halt of construction. It secured a permit to resume construction in 2020 but missed a deadline to start trial runs by October this year. It is slated for completion in January and eyes opening for trial operations in June next year, wrote Liberty Times.