Danao City won’t pursue 2017 Palaro hosting bid

RODRIGUEZ

Admitting it isn’t ready yet to host a national multi-sporting event, Danao City will no longer bid to host next year’s edition of Palarong Pambansa.

Oscar “Boying” Rodriguez, chairman of Danao City Sports Commission, relayed the information to Cebu Daily News on Friday morning.

Rodriguez said Danao City Mayor Nito Durano realized the city is still a couple of years away from being a capable host of the country’s biggest sporting event pitting elementary and secondary athletes.

“Mayor Durano decided that we are still 2 to 3 years away from capably hosting the Palaro considering the unfinished facilities that the Department of Education (DepEd)-Danao Division was supposed to use. We have our track oval but is still rescheduled to be resurfaced,” said Rodriguez.

Rodriguez added the construction of the track and field oval and Olympic-sized pool in Carmen town won’t be done in time for the Palaro next year.

Rodriguez said he and Durano talked after the mayor met with DepEd officials “and we agreed we were not ready yet.”

With Danao pulling out, the remaining bidders are Dumaguete City and the Antique Province.

Build a pool

Rodriguez and the Danao City government hope to address the lack of facilities as they plan to build a swimming pool to be used in competitions in the next few years.

To do so, the city needs a lot of support from the provincial government, said Rodriguez.

“Hopefully in a couple of years, we can have our own swimming pool.”

Grassroots program

Mayor Durano is also planning to have grassroots program in Danao to help the athletes become more competitive in the upcoming years.

“Mayor Nito’s thrust is to have a grassroots program in place first for badminton, table tennis, gymnastics, track and field so by the time we are ready to host, at least Danao City would be competitive,” Rodriguez said.

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