Will the Cebu City Sports Center be done in time for Palaro 2024?

This is how the Cebu City Sports Center (CCSC) looks like as of Monday, November 13, amid ongoing renovations. According to CCSC Executive Director Jovito Taburada, they will request the contractor to fast track the oval’s renovation so it would be finished by February 2024. CDN Digital photo | Niña Mae Oliverio

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Renovation works continue at the Cebu City Sports Center (CCSC), which will be hosting several multi-sporting events next year, including the prestigious Palarong Pambansa 2024.

But according to CCSC Executive Director Jovito Taborada, renovation is still 30-percent complete as of Monday, November 13, 2023.

Taborada said they will request the contractor to fast track the oval’s renovation so it would be finished by February 2024.

They are targeting to finish it by February 2024 because the sports center will also be used for the Cebu City Olympics and the Central Visayas Regional Athletics Association (CVIRAA) meet.

The City Olympics is expected to be held January while the CVIRAA is expected to be held in April, according to Francis Ramirez of the Cebu City Local Schools Board.

The Palarong Pambansa 2024 will be held in July.

READ: Cebu City is host of Palarong Pambansa 2024

“Paninguhaon nato, atong hangyoon ang contractor nga mahuman probably sa February,” Taborada said.

(We will ask the contractor to finish it probably by February.)

To recall, the CCSC was temporarily closed on May 18, 2023 to be renovated in preparation for the Palarong Pambansa. This will be the first time since 1994 that Cebu City will be hosting the prestigious multi-sporting meet.

READ MORE: Cebu City Sports Center closes temporarily for renovation

Taborada said that the reason of the delay in renovation is because of the bidding process that must be done by the city government.

“E-bid man gyud ni nato. Mao man gyud ning polisiya sa gobyerno. Di man nato madali-dali. Gawas og private sector ang mo trabaho,” Taborada.

(We really have to undergo bidding. That’s the policy in the government. We can’t hurry that. Unless a private sector would work on it.)

If the CCSC won’t be finished in time, organizers say they don’t have finalized any alternative venue for the sporting meets, although there are rumors that they are looking into a school in Mandaue that has an oval and the sports center in the neghboring City of Naga as alternatives.

Pool 70-percent done

Meanwhile, according to Bernard Ricablanca, a member of the Task Force Palaro, the swimming pool of the CCSC is already 70-percent finished.

He said they hope that by December, they could finally open the pool, as per John Pages, the chairman of Cebu City Sports Commission.

READ MORE: Cebu City’s bid to host Palaro on the right track

“It is not just the pool that was renovated but also the hallway, the offices, the shower rooms, and the comfort rooms. Probably, these are the things that the mayor would like to be on the top of,” Ricablanca said.

Three arcs

Moreover, as part of the Palarong Pambansa preparation, three arcs will be erected in three different places within CCSC.

This was the order of Rama, according to Ricablanca.

The first arc would be the main arc, which would be located beside Abellana Police Station. The second arc will be facing the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, and the third one will be facing the E-mall along N. Bacalso Avenue.

READ MORE: Cebu City to open road near sports center to help decongest traffic

“This is so that during the parade, there won’t be just one main entrance. There will be three or four entrances to be used once we have the Palarong Pambansa in 2024,” Ricablanca said.

As of press time, the Task Force Palaro has yet to present the design and length of the arcs.

The Palarong Pambansa will be held from July 20 to 26, 2024, and it will be attended by 17 regions with over 10,000 athletes.

/bmjo

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