43 venues mobilized for Southeast Asian Games

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (PHISGOC) will mobilize 43 venues for the 529 events in 56 sports to be played at the 11-nation SEA Games here on Nov. 30-Dec. 10 with Metro Manila heading the list at 15, Clark at 11, Subic at nine and Southern Luzon and others at eight.

The opening ceremony will be held at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan while the closing program will be at New Clark City.  The main transportation hubs will be in three clusters – Clark, Subic and Metro Manila. The International Broadcast Center (IBC) and Main Press Center (MPC) will be at the Asean Convention Center in Clark.

Sports whose venues are still undetermined are netball, floorball, indoor hockey, badminton and kickboxing.  Netball may be staged in either the Sta. Rosa Complex or Ynares Kapitolyo.  Floorball and indoor hockey will be held in the Philippine Arena or Sta. Rosa Complex or the Muntinlupa Sports Complex. Badminton’s options are the Makati Coliseum and Muntinlupa.  Kickboxing will be in either the PICC Forum or Cuneta Astrodome.  Squash is expected to be played at the Rizal Memorial where the courts will be built on the parking lot between the track oval and the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.  Construction of the courts is now undergoing a bid process.

Basketball, 5x5 for men and women, will be at the MOA Arena while the 3x3 event will be at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan.  The Filoil Flying V Center will also host e-sports.  Indoor volleyball is set at the PhilSports Arena.  Beach volleyball and beach handball will be at the Subic tennis courts.

Rizal Memorial’s facilities will be tapped for various sports.  The Ninoy Aquino Stadium will be refurbished for weightlifting and taekwondo.  The Rizal basketball coliseum will also be spruced up for artistic, rhythmic and aerobic gymnastics.  Football will be played at the Rizal turf and the Biñan Stadium.  The Rizal tennis courts will be the venue for tennis and soft tennis. 

Aside from 5x5 basketball, the SM Group will take care of ice hockey at the MOA ice rink and figure and speed skating at the Mega Mall ice rink.  Billiards will be played at the Manila Hotel Tent.  Bowling will roll out at the Coronado Lanes in StarMall EDSA.  Wushu, karatedo and fencing will be at the World Trade Center.  Boxing will take place at the PICC Forum.

Tagaytay will be the location for skateboarding and BMX, Road and Mountain Bike cycling.  Polo will be played at the Miguel Romero and Zobel Farm fields in Calatagan, Batangas.  Surfing will be in San Juan, La Union while underwater hockey will be at the Vermosa Sports Hub in Imus, Cavite.

The Subic cluster will be the battleground for canoe/kayak/dragon boat racing (Kamana Resort), chess (Rialto Function Room in the Travelers Hotel), muay, pencak silat and table tennis (Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center), triathlon, duathlon and open water swimming (Subic Bay Boardwalk, Building 229 Area), modern pentathlon (Subic Bay Helipad Area), sailing (Yacht Club), windsurfing (Lighthouse Hotel Area), sepak takraw (gym) and rowing (Triboa Bay).

Clark will host diving, swimming, water polo and athletics at New Clark City.  The obstacle course sports, petanque and lawn bowls will be at Clark Global City.  Shooting will be at Camp O’Donnell in Capas, Tarlac, while archery and rugby 7s will be at the Clark parade grounds.  Baseball and softball will be played in The Villages at Clark Global City.  Dancesport is scheduled at the Royce Hotel and Casino in the Clark Freeport Zone and golf at the Luisita course in Tarlac City. Kurash, judo and jiu-jitsu will be held at the Laus Group Events Center in San Fernando, Pampanga.  The Angeles University Foundation will be the site for arnis and sambo.  Wakeboarding will be at the Deca Wakeboard Park in the Clark Freeport Zone.