CEBU City hopes to host the 2024 edition of the Palarong Pambansa next year, 30 years after it last hosted the biggest youth sports meet in the country.
Cebu City is optimistic that it will win the bidding for the hosting of the Palarong Pambansa next year with the help of Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama.
“With the help of Mayor Mike, who is the president of the League of Cities, we hope to convince the Department of Education and the Palaro Board to allow Cebu to host the country’s biggest sporting meet,” Cebu City Sports Commission commissioner John Pages told SunStar Cebu.
“The year 1994 was a significant year for Cebu sports. It was the year when the Cebu City Sports Center was completed and when we last hosted the Palaro. Thirty years later, we hope to bring it back to Cebu with the newly refurbished CCSC.”
Cebu City will further strengthen its case as the rightful host for next year as it will do some renovations on the Cebu City Sports Center this year to make it a worthy venue for the national sports meet.
The Cebu City Sports Commission, led by Pages, will kick off the renovation by the total rehabilitation of the track oval, which was last done back in 2011.
Along with the track oval will be the construction of a new 25-meter swimming pool, which will comprise Phase 1 of the sports project that’s currently the top priority of the current administration.
Following the renovation of the track oval and the swimming pool, the Cebu City Sports Commission will then fix the different facilities, which include rooms, bathrooms and restrooms.
Pages assured that the project will be done before the 2024 Palarong Pambansa.
“For sure. The track oval rehabilitation will only take a couple of months. The Palaro will still be in July 2024. We have 17 months to prepare,” said Pages.