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| The Rizal Memorial Coliseum, once a major battleground in MICAA and PBA, may no longer hold basketball events in the future, with a retractable roof soon to be in place. PBA Images (file photo) |
MANILA—Philippine Sports Commission chairman Pato Gregorio said it is time the Rizal Memorial Coliseum once again serves its original purpose: as a major tennis court.
Speaking to foreign coaches and domestic sports officials on Thursday during the PSC performance review forum at the PSC House, Gregorio said that the arena may no longer host basketball games once its upgrade is done.
The major highlight of the Rizal Memorial Coliseum's renovation is the installation of a retractable roof, and Gregorio said that he will be reserving the arena mainly for non-basketball events once the new roofing is complete.
"It will no longer be a basketball court. My background is basketball, but I'm sorry, basketball. It's time to give opportunities and facilities to other sports," said Gregorio, who was once the chairman of the PBA board of governors.
He added that a Spanish group will arrive to help build the new roofing, which can make the Rizal Memorial Coliseum available for both indoor and outdoor sporting events.
Erected in 1934 initially for major tennis matches, the 6,000-seater venue was turned into an indoor arena during the height of MICAA's success in the 50s, before the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City was built.
Even with the emergence of the likes of the PhilSports Arena in Pasig, FilOil Centre in San Juan City, and SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay, the Rizal Memorial Coliseum remains a viable option to host indoor sports tournaments, especially basketball.
However, the mere fact that there are many other options to host basketball tournaments is the main reason why Gregorio is ruling out future hoop events at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
"There are so many basketball courts in this country. We don't need more basketball courts," Gregorio said.
Gregorio tried to do something similar to it at the PhilSports Arena, making it "futsal central" during the early part of the year stemming from the success of last year's FIFA Futsal Women's World Cup.
The arena, formerly known as the ULTRA, then hosted one leg of the VNL, but a month later, it began holding basketball games again with the NSAC World Invitational, UNTV Cup, and NCAA before letting esports league MPL Philippines hold their Season 18 playoffs there.
One insider told Dugout Philippines that the PBA is also considering making a return to the PhilSports Arena for the December games, the Governors' Cup semifinals and finals.
The league has yet to issue the official schedule of the semifinals as of posting.
Meanwhile, when asked by reporters after the coaches' forum, Gregorio said that once the Rizal Memorial Coliseum returns to being a tennis-oriented arena, one plan is to make it the "Stadium 1" for the third Philippine Women's Open in November 2027.
The second for next year after January's WTA 125 tourney, the November edition will be the first as a WTA 250, and the Rizal Memorial Coliseum would make a great main battleground, especially with Alex Eala expected to be directly invited to the new event.
"Marami pong options yan. Of course, tennis is one of them. Alam naman po natin na we will host WTA 250 in November 2027. We will try our best to develop it so that it's ready for the WTA 250," Gregorio continued.
He also said that the Ninoy Aquino Stadium, which has become an alternate PBA arena for the past couple of years, is also up for a retouch.
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