The movie was Gladiator. It was a good thing that the show featured the effects and not Russel Crowe’s self-conscious acting. What was truly amazing in the movie was how they recreated the gigantic Roman Colosseum, an engineering marvel that accommodated up to 45,000 blood-thirsty citizens. Emperor Vespasian had built it in the 1st century A.D. to appease city crowds with free circuses and gladiator matches.
The coliseum has been standing in Cubao for so long that most people probably feel that it’s been there since panahon pa ni Mahoma. (whoever Mahoma was). Well, it wasn’t. That corner of Cubao was a large open field with radio towers of the RCA Corporation until 1952 when Don Jose Amado Araneta bought the 35-hectare property. His company, the Progressive Development Corporation, quickly set about developing the land to compete with other emerging pockets of development like Makati and northern Quezon City.
The industrialist-sportsman felt that what was needed was a landmark able to house the largest Filipino crowds for sports and other events. This, he felt, would also draw more people to set up businesses in the area and within the Araneta Complex. After all, it was at the busy crossroads of Aurora Boulevard and Highway 54.
The proportions of the design were indeed heroic. The coliseum has a clear span of 108 meters (357 feet). The dome is suspended 10 stories (121 feet) above the arena floor, which itself is a half-acre in area. The dome was Imeldific before its time.
Construction started in 1957 and it took two more years to complete. The base of the coliseum and its tiers were cast concrete. The dome was made of steel with 48 main ribs meeting in a compression ring that floated high above the floor. The roof was of aluminum, the most modern material of the day. AG& P Manila was chosen as the engineering fabricator and contractor. It was a job fit for gladiators.
The dome finally opened on March 16, 1960 with the world championship fight of Flash Elorde versus Harold Gomes. Da Flash won, but the other winners were the Filipino people who now could boast that they had the "biggest covered coliseum in the world." This title was confirmed by international engineering bodies and the Araneta Coliseum held the title for three years. It still is today’s largest enclosed coliseum in Southeast Asia.
In all of these, I remember the dizzying heights we had to climb and the hard seats of the coliseum. The view, nonetheless, was exhilarating. I went back regularly to partake of the feasts of visual delight – circuses, acrobats, Deodato and then the famous Ali-Frazier fight. Of course, there was the annual Binibining Pilipinas, that carnival of female pulchritude that is now a cultural institution.
The dome went through a bad patch in the late 1970s and in the ’80s. The roof started to leak often and competing venues were more comfortable. All that has changed now. After a P200-million refurbishment, the dome is back to its old glory. The roof has been fixed, the seats are now first class all the way. They’ve got NBA-class scoreboards and even classier new restaurants that could give the Makati ones a run for their money.
I do miss some of the old surroundings of the dome. The original A&W was at the corner and enticed all to come with the neon sign "After the Show, A&W is the place to go!" I also miss the miniature golf on one corner of the property that was eventually converted to the Ali Mall. And I also miss Vasquez Brothers where my mother used to buy our school supplies. This was replaced by a National Book Store branch under the dome.
In the ’70s, I ate my first Jollibee hamburger at the Coronet Theatre nearby. I had my first beer guzzle fests with college buddies in holes-in-the-wall near the Farmers Market. But this is all gone and we all moved on, too.
Cubao will never be without the Coliseum. They are one and the same to me. We could invite Russel Crowe to perform at the dome. But I hope they use real lions this time. Trust me, the world will be a better place afterwards!