During Garcia’s inspection on Tuesday at the CCSC some workers were already applying the rubberized dust or granules for the installation of the rubberized track oval. CDN Digital photo | Niña Mae Oliverio
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Acting Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia is hopeful that the installation of the rubberized track oval will be completed by the end of June.
Garcia said that he saw a huge improvement since he visited the Cebu City Sports Center (CCSC) last week.
“Nalipay ko sa gibuhat sa contractor nga makakita na gyud ta nga nabutangan nagyud og second layer atong oval, which is the rubberized granules nga itom. After that will be the third layer, which is orange in color,” Garcia said.
(I am happy with what the contractor has done as it can be seen that the oval already has a second layer, which is the black rubberized granules. After that will be the third layer, which is orange in color.)
“I am hoping that everything at the latest will be finished by the end of next month. The end of June,” he added.
The CCSC will be the venue of the 2024 Palarong Pambansa, which will be held on July 6 to 17.
READ MORE: Palarong Pambansa 2024 schedule finally revealed
According to the contractor doing the renovation works for the track oval, the installation period will span for 30 days plus another seven days for curing period.
“Kinahanglan mahuman nani kay mao baya ni atong venue sa opening,” said Garcia.
(This should be done because this is the venue for the opening of the Palaro)
‘No Plan B’
In case the track oval will not be finished before the opening of the Palarong Pambansa, Garcia said that Cebu Governor Gwendolyn “Gwen”Garcia is “very much ready” to help with matters, especially that there are other track ovals in neighboring Cebu towns.
Last May 27, Garcia and the other tri-city mayors, including Acting Mayor Garcia of Cebu City, Jonas Cortes of Mandaue, and Junard Chan of Lapu-Lapu, signed a Memorandum of Collaboration (MOC) for the hosting of Palarong Pambansa 2024 in July.
The Provincial Government and the mayors of Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu earlier agreed to give their full support to Cebu City, this year’s host of the sports event.
However, Garcia said that there will be ‘no Plan B,’ which meant that the possibility of using the track ovals outside of Cebu City is a blur.
“But to tell you honestly, there’s no Plan B because it’s only Plan A,” Garcia said.
He added that in the MOC, the mayors expressed their support through “tourism-related” initiatives.
“Ni offer ang province nga mao lage na, Sports Tourism man ni, ang among agreement gabii is that our Tourism officers (from Cebu Province and the tri-cities) will now meet,” Garcia said.
(The province offered that since it is sports tourism, our agreement is that our tourism officers will now meet.)
Palarong Pambansa 2024
Among the initiatives that have planned include packages, discounts for hotels, accommodations, and food among other things, for the athletes and their families.
More than 12,000 student-athletes excluding their relatives, friends, and chaperons will converge in Cebu City for the 2024 Palarong Pambansa.
Furthermore, they are also planning to host some games in Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu like the sepak takraw, arnis, and other indoor sports.
He said that they are also looking for the possibility of Hoops Dome in Lapu-Lapu City to be the venue for the finals of basketball.
With all the things planned, Garcia said that the final plans will be made on Monday, June 3, as he will also meet with the committee for the Palarong Pambansa.