LESS than three months before the Palarong Pambansa (Palaro), the renovation of the main venue for the country’s largest sporting event for student athletes remains unfinished, with construction of the P47 million grandstand extension at the Cebu City Sports Center not even started yet.
But it’s all systems go for another sporting event, the Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association (CVIRAA) Sports Meet, set to take place in nine days, also in Cebu.
Under the memorandum of agreement with the Department of Education, the host local government unit or the Cebu City Government must ensure the readiness and availability of playing venues for the Palaro that are of international standards or were used in a recent international competition, well secured, accessible and free to the general viewing public, and with grandstands, bleachers or viewing areas.
In an interview on Thursday, April 25, 2024, City Councilor Donaldo Hontiveros said the City’s preparations for the Palaro are about 75 to 80 percent done.
Hontiveros said there is still the Cebu City Sports Center (CCSC) that they need to finish.
“Obviously, our Abellana Sports Center (now CCSC) is not yet finished, but we are told that it will be ready for the Palaro,” he said.
He said civil works in the interior of the CCSC grandstand are still ongoing, which include the rooms located on the second floor to be used as quarters for officials.
On the grandstand extension, Hontiveros said he still needs to consult the city’s Department of Engineering and Public Works.
He said the technical officials of the Palaro will come over to check the work progress.
“They will check all the venues. They will check all the billeting schools,” he said.
Set to take place from July 6 to 17, 2024, the Palaro is expected to draw 10,000 to 12,000 persons, composed of athletes and coaches, from the 17 regions in the country.
For the Palaro, the Cebu City Government allocated an initial P200 million to cover the rehabilitation of the CCSC, the main venue of the multi-sport youth event.
An additional P205 million will cover the installation of LED outdoor-field lights at the CCSC for P23 million, the construction and installation of digital-visual LED display with support frames and posts for P135.186 million, and the construction of the grandstand extension for P47 million.
On Thursday, Hontiveros said these items had not been purchased yet.
“There will be games to be held at night, but the procurement of these items is still being processed, the field lights, the LED,” Hontiveros said.
He said they are prioritizing the health of the athletes, which is the prime reason they requested these LED lights, so that if the need arises due to extreme heat, they can transfer the games to the evening.
Palaro schedule
The schedule of events for the Palaro includes delegate arrivals from July 6 to 7, with solidarity meetings and refresher courses occurring on July 7 and 8.
July 9 marks the opening ceremony at the Cebu City Sports Center, followed by a one-day break on July 10 before the official holding of the 28-sport competition from July 11 to 15.
The closing ceremony on July 16 is expected to be held at the South Road Properties (SRP), the venue of the Sinulog 2024, with the athletic delegations departing on July 17.
Cebu City first hosted the Palarong Pambansa in 1954, and then in 1994. This year’s hosting, for the 64th edition, will be the third time for Cebu.
The Cebu City Government closed the CCSC in May 2023 to facilitate the rehabilitation of the CCSC’s swimming pool and rubberized oval track.
Initially planned for completion by December 2023, civil works at the CCSC were later rescheduled to be finished by the end of April.
CVIRAA preparations
For the CVIRAA Sports Meet to be held from May 4 to 9, 2024, preparations are in full swing in Cebu, with all systems ready except for the swimming events pending completion of the pool renovation at the Cebu City Sports Center, said Hontiveros, who assured that the venue would be ready in time.
Cebu City Sports Commission Chairman John Pages said as much, announcing on his Facebook page Thursday night that the CCSC pool facilities would reopen next week with “brand-new (Pentair) filtration systems; international-standard starting blocks and anti-wave lane lines; new shower rooms and a 25-meter warm-up pool, replacing the old kiddie pool.”
Pages said the CCSC pool would reopen in time for the CVIRAA meet that will bring “over 9,000 athletes to Cebu” for Cebu City’s first hosting of the regional meet in 10 years.
Pages said private donors funded the renovation of the CCSC pools, namely Cebu Landmasters Inc. (Joe and Franco Soberano), University of Cebu (Augusto Go), and Cebu Home and Builders Centre (James Co), among several others.
Change in venue
Hontiveros said the opening of the CVIRAA will be done at the SRP on May 4. Earlier, it had been announced that both the opening and closing ceremonies would be held at the Cebu Coliseum.
Hontiveros said batted sports will take place at City di Mare at the SRP, while indoor sports venues at partner schools and universities are set.
Instead of the City of Naga, as announced earlier this month when the use of the CCSC for the athletics events was placed in doubt, the athletics events will now be held at the Sacred Heart School (SHS-Ateneo). Athletics events include competitive running, sprints, relays and throwing events like shot put and javelin.
Billeting schools are also prepared, with some already rehabilitated.
Hontiveros said CVIRAA will serve as a simulation for the Palaro to identify areas for improvement.
Regarding the increasing heat index, Hontiveros said the risk reduction and medical committees are ensuring athlete safety, focusing on minimizing the athletes’ exposure to extreme temperatures.
“If the need arises, if it gets really hot at a certain time, the risk reduction team already knows that we will postpone and adjust it for a later time,” Hontiveros said.
From April 22 to 24, the heat index in Cebu reached 39 degrees Celsius, the highest so far this year.
Venues
The following are the venues for the CVIRAA games:
Archery - SRP
Arnis - University of the Visayas
Athletics - Sacred Heart School (SHS-Ateneo)
Badminton - MetroSports
Baseball - Filinvest City Di Mare at the SRP
Basketball (5x5) - University of San Carlos (USC) Main, University of Southern Philippines, USC North
Basketball (3x3) - Cebu Eastern College
Billiards - Filinvest Il Corso at the SRP
Boxing - Cebu City Sports Institute
Chess - University of the Philippines Cebu
Dancesport - G Mall
Football - Don Bosco, USC Talamban, SHS-Ateneo
Futsal - Don Bosco
Gymnastics - SHS-Ateneo (Aero) / Cebu Institute of Technology-University (Men’s Artistic Gymnastics and Women’s Artistic Gymnastics) / Alta Vista (Rhythmic)
Pencak Silat - Filinvest Il Corso
Sepak Takraw - SHS-Ateneo
Softball - Filinvest City Di Mare at the SRP
Swimming - Cebu City Sports Center
Table Tennis - Cebu Technological University
Taekwondo - SM Seaside City Cebu
Lawn Tennis - Citigreen, Alta Vista
Volleyball – University of San Jose-Recoletos
Wrestling - SM Seaside City Cebu
Wushu - SM Seaside City Cebu.