PSC venues draw interests

Government sports facilities are getting a new lease of life following the massive renovation project launched by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).

PSC executive director Guillermo Iroy yesterday said a handful of basketball leagues are showing interest, prompting them to re-assess their position before formally accepting bookings and reservations.

Leading the league that wants to get a first taste of the newly refurbished Rizal Memorial Coliseum (RMC) are the University Athletic Association of the Philippines, National Collegiate Athletic Association and Alab Pilipinas squad of the Asean Basketball League.

Alab, for one, wants the RMC to host its home games, which means that it is ready to enter into a long-term lease agreement with the government sports agency.

But Iroy said they have yet to make a decision.

“Suddenly, we are swamped with requests from leagues that want to use RMC and other government sports facilities. The requests are overlapping already,” said Iroy, the trusted deputy of PSC chairman William “Butch” Ramirez.

“But we can’t make a decision right away. We have to re-assess our position and conduct a study on acceptance of clients before proceeding with the bookings and reservations.”

The government, through the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, donated a total of P842 million for the refurbishment of government sports facilities in the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, Philsports Arena, Ninoy Aquino Stadium (NAS) and Teachers Camp.

The PSC spent P249 million for the repair and renovation of RMC, expanding it from 6,000-seating capacity to 8,000, while P289 million for the NAS and P400 million for Philsports Arena.