The media room for the football event. —SHERWIN VARDELEON
Finished or not finished?
As contrasting updates pour in regarding the state of venues being refurbished for the 30th Southeast Asian Games, the Philippine Sports Commission is sure of a few things.
The venues will more than serve their purpose for the regional meet. They will also figure in bigger plans being cooked up by the country’s government sports arm.
The PSC announced that the facelift being done inside Rizal Memorial Sports Complex and PhilSports Arena is complete, even as reports filtered in that several areas are still under construction.
Social media was burning with viral photos of the press room for the ongoing football tournament at Rizal stadium, with photos clearly showing that the area was far from finished.
PSC Chair Butch Ramirez said part of the reason his office funded the rehabilitation of the historic venues is that he hopes it encourages and inspires national athletes to aim high in international meets—like the Olympics.
“We admit that these are very old venues. But the history of these facilities speaks of the heroism of our athletes,” said Ramirez.
“We deemed it right to put the venues back in their original forms,” added Ramirez, who announced the completion of the historic Rizal Memorial Coliseum, Ninoy Aquino Stadium, the Rizal Football Field, the RMSC lawn tennis court and other facilities inside the 85-year-old sports complex.
The Multi-Purpose Arena, medical building and dormitories at Philsports have undergone renovations too.
“We were on target. We gave the people an assurance that we will finish the competition areas and our various teams in the PSC did their jobs well and delivered,” said Ramirez, who explained that these facilities were originally not intended for the SEA Games hosting.
Majority, if not all, of the events was originally penciled to be played at Subic and Clark. Some available facilities in these areas, however, failed to meet international standards.
“And since the PSC-owned facilities have been used for international events many times in the past and have met the IF (international federation) requirements, it was clear that some of the SEA Games events can be hosted by our venues,” said Ramirez.