The Philippine Arena

ions by embracing an unintended, but welcome, symbolish – that of resolve, resourcefulness, and rejoicing. The Philippine Arena, for all that it already is, has become an empowering emblem of national pride. The Philippine Arena was inaugurated on July 21, 2014. It is a multi-purpose indoor arena located at Ciudad de Victoria – a tourism enterprise zone in Bocaue, Bulacan, Philippines, covering more than 100 hectares. With a seating capacity of up to 55,000, it became the world’s largest indoor arena. It is considered as the world’s largest indoor arena, and has been declared as the largest mixed-use indoor arena by the Guinness Book of World Records – with a seat capacity of 50,000 but configurable to over 53,000. Having already made a mark in history, there is no doubt that the Philippine Arena is the only venue of choice when it comes to hosting the biggest and most significant events in the country. Size matters as far as arenas and stadiums go. It is in the nature of these structures to be big, not just because by nature they need to accommodate large audiences, but also because they need the bragging rights to attract more spectators as the events they host get grander and more spectacular. The fascination with, and the need for bigness goes back a long way, and it seems ingrained. In sheer floor area, the Philippine Arena is easily the world’s biggest permanently roofed arena (or stadium). In seating capacity – 50,000 but configurable to over 53,000 – Philippine Arena is the world’s largest domed arena. And it isn’t just seating capacity that makes the Philippine Arena big. Its length and breadth are just supersized-243 meters at its longest and 193 meters at its widest. Form follows function. Bequeathed to the architectural world by the American architect Louis Sullivan and smithed by the modernist movement into a principle, the venerable architectural credo is alive and well in the Philippine Arena. Unlike many of the worlds biggest arenas, the Philippine Arena seats most of its audience in front of its performance area and a bit in its wings, the better to keep its audience close to the word on stage and even closer to the spirit of community – the latter being the ineffable intangible that all classical amphitheaters strove to engender in their day. The function of the Philippine Arena is the function of the amphitheater: to entertain, to be seen, to be heard. And its form that follows from the function of the amphitheater. Inside the Arena
Floor Plan

Level 1

Level 1 spreads across the name floor as the stage area. It’s nerve center and the power spot of the Philippine arena. Here, the VIP and the VVIP spaces are located, with some 446 sqm reserved for the former and about 871 sqm for the latter. And because the Philippine Arena is as much a theater as it is a sports facility, Level 1 also hosts a player waiting room, two team change rooms, a referee room, and, of course, a press center. Since most of these spaces, being service oriented, need direct access to the road, four stairs have been provided: two running up from the road on the northward side; the other two, on the southward side. The eastward side is dominated by a loading dock that directly services the state area. Level 2

If there’s a main level in the Philippine Arena it’s Level 2. This is where the Great Stairs deposit the 50,000, to pool at the main hall in front of the three primary vomitories or go styrainght in. it’s the most public of all the levels in the sense that it has the largest floor area catering to spectators – about 20,678 sqm, excluding the sublevel for machinery. Of that, 14,952 sqm are taken up by the lower concourse and 1,342 sqm in total by F&B concessionaire space, divvied up into 10 good-sized slots that are recessed along the periphery of the concourse at even distances. Level 3

Level 3 continues where Level 2 left off, architecturally extending the theme of style and service to include conference facilities, suites, a commentator’s box, an AV control room, and a TBV control room. Level 3 is a level above and below the two concourses, making it the quiet, nonpublic level. It’s the ideal setting for VIP and VVIP accommodations and facilities. Being between two noisy levels was something of a design compromise though, because the concourses had nowhere to be but where they are now, their levels having been preordained by considerations of spectator convenience, safety, and seating distribution. Ironically, the quiet zone that Level 3 is now would have been noisy too, but for the use of sound-absorbent material applied to the ceilings of the spaces on this level. Level 4

Level 4 is a reflection of Level 2 functionally, but architecturally, it’s an economical version owing to the reduced circumference of the upper concourse and the smaller volume of spectators the level serves. Two generously sized, but optional, F&B concessionaire spaces have been allotted to Level 4, their statuses depending on the number of spectators expected for the event being hosted. Dressing Rooms & Production Space





Press Rooms





Seating Charts

Seating is distributed in a horseshoe-shaped bowl, its mouth, the lowers point of the bowl, serving as the performance area. The shape ensures that each of the arena’s 50,000 seats has a unimpeded, clear view of the stage area. The shape also allows for easy seating capacity reconfiguration – the arena’s capacity can contract down to 25,000 simply by screening off the upper bowl (which has 26,760 seats) from the lower bowl (19,776 seats, excluding stage and choir seats) using drop-down acoustic curtains. Facilities and Other Services

Facilities

Box Office services
Ticket seller labor
Ushers
Supervisors
Receptionist
Medical Services for event attendees, which services shall include ambulance, nurses, supervisors, and paramedics (as determined by Manager)
Security Personnel
Uniformed police officers
Fire Inspectors
Utilities, including electricity, gas, lighting, water, heating, ventilating, air conditioning, hot and cold water facilities, and waste removal services. Electricians and mechanical pant staff
Custodial services
LED boards
In-house audio services
In-house Spotlights
Floor Seating (chairs)
Golf cart
Ambulance
Fire truck


Additional Services & Information

Additional backstage security requested-per act or promoter
Phone and internet service
Credit cards fees
Merchandise