New Clark City Sports Complex: the Future of PH Sports
The success of the 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games last December 2019 will forever be written in the history books. Filipino athletes reaped medal after medal, and we showed that Filipino talent is truly world-class. All of this amazing development was centered on an equally world-class achievement – the New Clark City Sports Complex.
Our government created this sports hub for everyone to use. Most importantly, the New Clark City Sports Complex is a testament to our athletes’ sacrifice and dedication to their craft. It is the ideal training ground for the future Filipino athlete.
After Filipino weightlifter, Hidilyn Diaz bagged the silver medal in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the Philippine Sports Commission was already hinting on pushing for this sports hub. Now, this magnificent dream is a reality.
State-of-the-art sports center
The New Clark City Sports Complex is a 9,500-hectare development located in Capas, Tarlac. It houses a 20,000-seater athletics stadium, a 2,000-seater aquatics center, and the Athletes’ Village.
Even before its construction, the sports complex has generated a lot of buzz, especially from the Filipino sports community.
Mount Pinatubo inspired the design of the Sports Complex. In fact, the stadium uses lahar and other volcanic debris for its posts and facade.
In conjunction with the awards given to our athletes in the 2019 SEA Games, the New Clark City Sports Complex also received a much-deserved award.
World Athletics, an international athletics governing body, gave the stadium a Class 1 Certification. This is the first sports facility in the country to be given this distinction. A Class 1 certification means that a venue is prepared and capable of holding big events, such as the Olympics.
Sports training for every Juan
The New Clark Sports Stadium isn’t a one-time use structure. During the 30th SEA Games torch-lighting ceremony, Senator Bong Go, the head of the ceremony, discussed the future plans for the sports hub.
READ: New Clark City almost ready for 2019 SEA Games
“We are going to put up schools for young athletes at New Clark City where they can both train in world-class facilities at the New Clark City Sports Complex while being able to pursue their studies to ensure that young athletes who wish to go to college will be able to do so,” said Go.
This is amazing news for the Filipino athlete of the future. New Clark City is truly becoming a hub for sports in the country.
What’s next?
The Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA), the developers of the New Clark City Sports Hub, further explains their plans.
They are currently in negotiations of possibly becoming a training facility for athletes from Europe and South America who are competing in the Tokyo Summer Olympics 2020. Athletes need to acclimatize and condition themselves before the Olympics, and Tarlac’s climate is similar to how it will actually be on the competition dates.
The sports hub has also expressed willingness to hold local competitions that could utilize their facilities. The stadium is perfect for holding multisport indoor events such as martial arts, gymnastics, basketball, volleyball, boxing, and badminton.
Projects like the New Clark City Sports Complex provide not just a venue to hold events in. They cultivate the passions that Filipinos have, and provide the infrastructure for us to pursue our dreams.
The truth is, ‘Build, Build, Build’ Projects are about more than just mobility and convenience. They concern projects like this too. These are tools of every Filipino to achieve not just a comfortable life, but a life full of possibilities and better futures.
