PBA inches closer to a home of its own

BANGKOK—Buddy Encarnado, an executive of former league member Sta. Lucia Realty, is optimistic that the long-cherished PBA coliseum is close to being realized and that the project can have its ground breaking as early as January.   Encarnado has pinpointed a prime piece of property in a Philippine metropolis as the potential site of the PBA coliseum.   “It (property) is about 1.5 hectares and the entire project could cost the PBA something close to P4 billion at this point,” Encarnado told reporters over dinner Monday, careful not to divulge the exact location.   “Once the feasibility study has been put together and we get the Board’s approval and all other negotiations are done, the groundbreaking should start sometime next year.”   Having its own coliseum will enable the PBA to be even more commercially successful as it can do away with exorbitant rental expenses in holding its games.   The PBA started out at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao in 1975, calling the Big Dome its home for more than a decade before moving over to the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay in 1993 and enjoying some success there.   From then, the PBA has bounced around, and has, as recently as the last season, played in some small venues counting the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Vito Cruz and the Ynares Center in Pasig.   The league has been displaced at the Araneta by such events such as cockfighting, concerts and the collegiate leagues.