SM launches state of the art Mall of Asia Arena

DURING the recent two-day Lady Gaga The Born This Way Ball Tour in Manila, the public was not only awed by her show stopping performance, but by the venue, the new state of the art SM Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena.

Located on an 18,214 square meter site at the SM Mall of Asia Complex, the new 64,085 square meter five-storey landmark by the bay is a multi-purpose venue that can accommodate a seating capacity of 15,000 with a full-house capacity of 20,000.

“The Sy family, especially SM Prime Holdings, Inc. President Hans T. Sy, was very much involved in the details of the MOA Arena’s construction,” says Edgar Tejerero, senior vice president of West Avenue Theaters Corp., the managing arm of SM Cinema.

The SM MOA Arena had the Arquitectonica International Corporation as its design architect and Monolith Construction and Development Corporation as its general contractor.

Designed for concerts and basketball games, it can also be configured for boxing, theater, fashion, and ice-skating shows.

“The distinctive eye-shaped façade symbolizes the MOA Arena’s promise of delivering
top-notch entertainment to its audience,” says Arquitectonica’s David Zaballero, the MOA Arena’s project director.

“It seeks to channel the message that every single event to be held in its premises will surely be a ‘feast for the eye’.”

The Arena’s interiors are simple and minimalist. Arranged on two tiers, it has a ring of corporate suites separating the tower seats from the balcony levels. Performances converge on the event bowl, that volume of space that includes the event floor and the spectator’s seats around it. The Mosh Pit is the event floor used as a spectator’s area usually without seats provided, as in a musical concert.

It is the first events venue in the Philippines to use Robbins Inc.’s upgraded and newly improved portable floor design and first to have Spalding Goal, the NBA Basketball goal standard, in the country.

To comply with international standards, the Arena has four dug-outs, a mess hall for an event’s technical team, an exclusive room for press conferences, and even a special Meet and Greet area.

The MOA Arena’s Corporate Suites are another first, not only in the country, but also in all of Southeast Asia. There are a total of 41 corporate suites, exclusive and fully furnished room designed with its lounge, mini bar, restroom and private gallery with cinema seats. Ten of these suites can be rented on a per event basis, while the rest are leased for a period of one to five years.

The Arena also has a live beaming capability to any SM Cinema nationwide, technologically enhanced internal crowd and traffic control and Wi-Fi accessibility.

It also has VIP amenities like smoking lounges, as well as restaurants in the concourses.

Moving around the Arena is easy with 10 elevators, 34 escalators and special access lanes for PWDs. For customer convenience, it has 2,000 parking spaces at the south side of the mall with an additional 1,400 slots at the neighboring Mall of Asia Arena Annex (MAAX) building. Valet parking services are also available.