Fiba World Cup deputy event director Erika Dy. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—The issue of transport going to and from Philippine Arena, where Gilas Pilipinas’ opening game at the Fiba World Cup will be held, is one of the things the organizing committee looks to resolve with less than two months left before the country’s hosting.
Just recently, global pop star Bruno Mars held a two-day concert in the massive stadium in Bulacan, where thousands of concert-goers experienced crippling traffic going to the venue.
The seating capacity at Philippine Arena was no problem and Bruno Mars’ performance certainly was not the low point either, but logistical and transportation concerns of the concert-goers were highlighted.
In fact, Fiba 2023 World Cup Executive Director David Crocker was among those hassled by traffic issues at Bruno Mars’ concert.
“On Sunday, David Crocker attended the (Bruno Mars) concert. He told me it took him an hour to get to the parking lot and another hour just to get to the exit,” deputy event director Erika Dy said at Mall of Asia Arena during the SBP’s Invitational Games, an event to simulate the games for the Fiba World Cup from August 25 to September 5.
“Overall, (it took him) almost three hours and thirty minutes approximately just to get out.”
FILE–Crowd at Philippine Arena during a PBA Christmas Day game. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Dy said that the incident has been brought up with the Philippine Arena management and they are working on something to fix the concerns, including hiring a traffic expert for the Fiba World Cup opening.
“The good news is, we sat down with Philippine Arena’s management this morning so a lot of solutions were put in the table. We also plan to hire an expert traffic [official] to control the traffic,” said Dy.
Another fix that the Fiba World Cup LOC will enforce is the bus system. Dy revealed that already 400 buses and shuttles have already reserved for game day come August 25.
The World Cup will open for Gilas when they face the Dominican Republic at 8 pm in the 55,000-seating capacity arena. Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas is looking to set a Fiba record attendance for the opener.
Philippine Arena was supposed to be hosting final phase of the Fiba World Cup, but Fiba has decided to move the games to Mall of Asia Arena due to logistical concerns.