PSC plans to rehab old Rizal

MANILA, Philippines –  Philippine Sports Commission chairman Richie Garcia yesterday bared plans to rehabilitate the Rizal Memorial Track and Field Stadium into a venue that meets international standard to host major football competitions like next week’s AFC Challenge Cup.

With the Rizal in poor shape, next Wednesday’s AFC Challenge Cup qualifying match between the Philippine Azkals and Mongolia has been set at the Panaad pitch in Bacolod City instead.

“A few weeks ago, we inspected the Rizal Memorial and we found out that some 50 of our light bulbs are gone,” Garcia said.    

“Now if we could replace it while we wait for the grass to grow in the field, in two months we could start to host football tournaments there,” he added.

Garcia explained that it would save government money if they would do the refurbishing instead of constructing new venues, which could cost billions.

“I don’t think it’s advisable to construct a 20,000 or 50,000-setter venue. The best thing to do is to renovate our existing facilities like the Rizal Oval and Panaad, which would save us a lot of money,” said Garcia.

However, he failed to mention the memorandum of understanding signed by the PSC and De La Salle University allowing the latter to bankroll the renovation of the venue.