A landmark gets a facelift

The Araneta Coliseum, or the The Big Dome as it is popularly known, stands alone in the field of live entertainment in the Philippines. When it comes to concerts, sports events, or other special shows like ice revues and circuses, no venue can match the list of luminaries The Big Dome has gathered under its roof since it opened in l960: from the Harlem Globetrotters to Shaquille O’Neal, from Ann Margret to Alanis Morisette, from Diana Ross and the Supremes to The Corrs, from Nora Aunor to Regine Velasquez, from The Great Moscow Circus to Neil Goldberg’s Cirque.

And who can forget Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in1975’s Thrilla in Manila, one of the greatest sporting events of all time?

Araneta Group chairman and president Jorge Araneta vividly remembers that fight. He recalls a battered Ali returning to his corner saying he wanted to quit. "I was seated near him," Jorge recalls. "It was the first time I realized the value of his alalay, Bundini Brown. Hinarap siya, sinisigawan at the top of his voice, ‘Champ, you can’t quit now! You’re the champion!’ Panay ganoon. Tapos tinulak siya (back to the ring). The next round, Frazier backed out.

"Next day, I gave Ali lunch in my house. As he arrived, he looked like a different person, parang mummy–his whole body was swollen. Bugbog eh.

"When we sat down I said, ‘You know Champ, to commemorate your great victory, I will name a building after you. Aba lintik! Nagising siya (guffaws)! He said ‘I will come back for the inauguration!’ And he did, three or four years later!"

An interesting footnote to this story: Muhammad Ali never asked for a single centavo for the building that would become the Ali Mall, another of the Araneta Center’s popular sites.

"The Araneta Coliseum is an architectural marvel," Jorge continues with visible pride. "(It has been around for) 41 years without any damage despite the l991 earthquake and all that. At walang poste yan!

"My father Amado Araneta went to Rome and saw the Coliseum. He was impressed by it and said, ‘I’m gonna build that in the Philippines.’ He was not an architect– he was a businessman–so he had his friend Rufino Antonio make all the plans.

"My father built the Coliseum– aside from being a business enterprise–to be of service to the people. His business philosophy was always mass production. When he was in the sugar business, (he sold) sugar in bulk. When he turned to real estate, his dream was to have the best talent available at the lowest price."

Jorge cites as an example the low ticket prices of Neil Goldberg’s Cirque shown in the Coliseum a few weeks ago. "In Las Vegas," Jorge says, "it cost $150. Here, the most expensive seat was only $18, the cheapest seats, $1.40. (But these are) nothing compared to when we opened the Coliseum in l960. My father charged P1 for the world championship fight (World Junior Lightweight Title) of Flash Elorde and Harold Gomes."

When plans for the Araneta Center’s renovation were being made, one possibility considered was demolishing the Coliseum to give way to more profitable establishments. Jorge says that in l999, however, "The final decision was to keep the Coliseum because the Center was known primarily because of it.

"You see, for many years it looked like we just abandoned the Center and let it go. But it was really a function of master planning. There were political incidents–Ninoy Aquino’s death, the EDSA Revolution, the coup d’etats– so the plans (didn’t materialize)."

In line with the current Araneta Center Redevelopment Master Plan (with Palafox Associates, Philippines as the architect/urban planners and RTKL International Ltd., USA as master planning/design consultant) which might well reclaim for the Araneta Center its preeminence as a commercial, leisure and entertainment center, the Coliseum was the first structure in the Center to be renovated. Completed early last year, The Big Dome has–any which way one looks at it–received a "face-lift" befitting its status as a landmark.

For the renovation, Jorge says, "We spent P250 million and extended the services of the Dean of American Arena Management, Denzil Skinner. When my father first built the Coliseum, it could sit 36,000. At that time it was just bench-sitting. Now (with individual seats) we sit 20,000."

The Coliseum’s new 180 by 80 feet stage grid can support lights and other equipment with its load capacity of 74,000 pounds.

"In 1994 I wanted the Miss Universe pageant (to be held) in the Coliseum so they sent their experts here. They said hindi pwede because they had to hang 25 tons of lighting–hindi kaya ng existing grid. So pinalitan natin lahat iyon. The grid runs all the way across the arena, hindi lang sa stage– you can hang anything you want. It was not just a matter of hanging a catwalk; you have to make sure it does not disturb the structural integrity of the building.

"After that we put in an electronic scoreboard which costs about $250,000. And then we changed the basketball flooring. It is made of pure maple from Georgia. Not only is it a good flooring, it’s modular, removable. Pag walang basketball, naaalis iyan in six to eight hours. Under the flooring is cement.

"We gutted the arena and changed the configuration. We put in a new lighting and a new electrical system."

The acoustics, production and dressing rooms, and backstage were likewise renovated. The ticketing service, courtesy of Ticketnet, Inc., is now computerized.

Jorge is convinced that all the renovation expenses have been worth it. "It’s now world-class," he says of the Coliseum. "When you go there you feel good when you see a nice show. You’re content."

Entertainment-wise, what’s surprising is that the Coliseum’s renovation is just the beginning of many other changes planned for the Center. With events producer Neil Goldberg at the helm, the 3,000-seat New frontier theater, the largest in the country, will also undergo renovation.

"I was impressed by Neil Goldberg," says Jorge. "For me, he’s a genius. I have been able to prevail on him and I brought him to the New Frontier. He said, ‘We will make a palace out of this!’"

And then there is the Elephant World (tentative name) featuring 12 trained elephants with special skills like playing football and basketball, and also a cineplex in the works.

For the middle class which has been the bulk of the Araneta Center’s loyal clientele all these years, it is reassuring to hear Jorge say that at the Araneta Center, "We will continue to focus on entertainment."

As in, affordable world-class entertainment.