A critical evaluation of the Kaohsiung arena Build Operate Transfer project.

Major sports facilities such as stadiums are becoming an essential ingredient that changes people's lives. They are conducive to the promotion of national sport, increase the number of sports participants, and lead to the development of sports core and related industries. However, "successful construction" of sports facilities does not guarantee "successful operation". From the 1990s, many governments have tried to alleviate the financial burden of developing infrastructure by using Build Operate Transfer (BOT) approach. Later on, the trend became very popular and major BOT sports facilities also started to rise. This study is intended to examine the BOT development of major sports venues by a case study of Kaohsiung Arena, including an analysis of the benefits and challenges of such ventures. To achieve this, a pragmatic approach was adopted and mix-method research was carried out including the questionnaires and open-ended face-to-face interviews, followed with participant observation.The findings indicate: 1. Kaohsiung Arena is running smoothly so far and this BOT project is helping the local government release their financial burden effectively. 2. Both the city government and the owner of Kaohsiung Arena are pleased with the benefits that have been gained from this project, and the overall customer satisfaction and loyalty are high. 3. The experience of Kaohsiung Arena can serve as a positive reference for the construction of other stadiums in Taiwan. This project can be highlighted conclusively as a positive example for future projects. The results contribute to the wider knowledge of fundamental issues in the planning and operating of major sports BOT venues, and stress the issues and difficulties in the operation stage. Most important of all, it not only fills the gaps in BOT studies of major sports venues in Taiwan and Asia, but makes recommendations to the future projects that construct large-scale sports facilities by BOT approach in similar socio-political and economic contexts. Keywords: Build Operate Transfer (BOT), Kaohsiung Arena, Public Private partnerships, Case study, Taiwan