Nat’l athletes moving out of old RMSC

The national athletes are moving out of the antiquated Rizal Memorial Sports Complex even if negotiations for the sale of the old training facilities along Vito Cruz fall through.

Philippine Sports Commission chair Richie Garcia said the committee on youth and sports development of the House of Representatives is now crafting a bill for the transfer of the athletes from various sports to Clark field in Pampanga, where the government plans to build a new sports complex.

The PSC has been negotiating for the possible sale of the 9.3-hectare RMSC to the City of Manila to finance the projected multibillion-peso complex.

“They (congressmen) want to file the bill as fast as they could. I hope it pushes through while we’re negotiating with Manila,” said Garcia.

Garcia said the agency is also looking to strike a memorandum of agreement with the Clark Development Corporation for the construction of the 50-hectare training center inside the former US air base.

The PSC hopes to raise raise around P3.5 billion in selling the Rizal Memorial but Garcia stressed that relocation is a must even if transactions fail to push through.