Thursday, December 28, 2006 Two sites eyed for building of PBA stadium
DEAD serious in realizing a long-cherished dream of having its own coliseum sooner than later, the Philippine Basketball Association has been vigorously pursuing the plan and has in fact limited to two the preferred sites for the dream project.
The choices are down to the sprawling vacant lot near the Manila Seedling Bank in Quezon City and another big area within the Global City in Taguig.
Taguig became a prospect site after Mayor Freddie Tinga offered theplace during a recent meeting with PBA commissioner Noli Eala, adding that the site will be near where the projected North and South Rail projects are supposed to meet.
“At present, Quezon City has the edge in proximity and accessibility. We’ll have no problem there with regards to transportation especially because of the MRT. But Mayor Tinga said they have a program which deals with transportation. In three years, Mayor Tinga said everything will be in place,” Eala bared.
Giant
With giant corporations PLDT and San Miguel Corp. leading the bandwagon, PBA ballclubs have reached a consensus to pursue the ambitious project. “This has been the PBA’s dream for a long time. It’s about time that we go for it,” said PBA board chairman Ricky Vargas.
Smart and PLDT top bossman Manny V. Pangilinan has already acquired designs for the arena and is now in consultation with architects.
The concept is to put up a state-of-the-art complex, housing the PBA dome, a practice facility, a fitness center and stalls where PBA clubs and other business entities can market their products. At present, the PBA spends more than P200,000 on the average per playdate for the use of the Araneta Coliseum where the games are regularly held. Aside from that, teams spend around P5,000 each almost everyday in gym rental for their practices.
After identifying the site of the venue, Eala said the next step will be to lay down the financial scheme for the project.
“What could well happen is that each ballclub would put in its share. The rest we would loan from banks,” said Eala.
The league commissioner is hopeful the groundbreaking could take place sometime in July of the coming year. (PBA Media Bureau)
