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The 20,000 seat Athletics Stadium in the New Clark City Sports Hub complex in the Philippines - set to be the centrepiece of the upcoming 2019 Southeast Asian Games - is on target to open ahead of schedule.

With this year’s edition of the multi-sport SEA Games set to take place from 30th November to 11th December, the 50 hectare New Clark City Sports Hub/Complex[2] (initially known as the Philippine Sports City or Philippine Olympic City) is a complex of sport facilities that will include the main venues for this year’s Games and the 2020 ASEAN Para Games.

Located in the planned community of New Clark City 100 kilometres north of the Philippines capital of Manila, the precinct was first announced in 2016.

With the status of the project in question as late as August 2017, when the country’s President, Rodrigo Duterte withdraw Government support for the Games, work commenced in January last year after a change of heart from the controversial Head of State.

Designed by the BUDJI+ROYAL Architecture+Design firm, the Athletics Stadium has been built alongside the Athletes’ Village and the Aquatics Stadium.

The design has been inspired by Mount Pinatubo, located on the boundaries of the host province of Tarlac and fellow provinces Zambales and Pampanga.

Bases Conversion and Development Authority President and Chief Executive, Vivencio Dizon, told the GMA News website that the stadium’s soft opening will come tomorrow, advising “the idea is to make a sense of place where Mt. Pinatubo is deeply attached to the history of the people of Tarlac and the surrounding area. During the preliminary brainstorming of the project, we talked about creating something that reflects the story of the area.”

With a ‘lahar-finished’ material to give the Stadium its main visual identity, Dizon advised “the (material) is double-purpose. This is for the design element and for low maintenance where you don’t need to paint them and can leave them as is.”

Following the SEA Games, Dizon said the Athletics Stadium will be privatised and will become a multi-use facility and a national training centre for Filipino athletes.

Dizon added: “We went to see stadiums in London, Sydney, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and other countries to benchmark on the world-class quality of the facility.

“We got all the best technologies coming from these countries and tried to make an amalgam of a fantastic design from these ideas.”

Image: New Clark City Stadium.

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