Baguio sports complex will be error free; tennis court, parking building in one area

June 12, 2021 Metro BLISTT

Two sports facilities worth PhP511 million to be funded by the city are set to be implemented soon, a confident city administrator Bonifacio dela Pena said this week. But Dela Pena is bullish that the PhP391 million city sports complex and youth convergence center will be bid out soon and be implemented anytime this year, even as he looks forward at the reworked PhP120M parking building which will rise at a new location to integrate another component of the Baguio athletic bowl with it.
“We just made a few tweaks,” said dela Pena referring to the parking building that was earlier planned to rise at the dilapidated smaller grandstand or bandstand. Dela Pena said that the Department of Tourism has thumbed down the proposed four storey parking building that would have included a view room atop to give spectators a magnificent view of the happenings at the track and field.
“But it was denied because it will destroy the view,” said dela Pena, an engineer. He said that the planned building will be reduced to only three floors will rise at the present site of the Baguio Tennis Club, which was earlier envisioned to have three fast, hard courts and a lone shell-clay court for a slower surface for the senior citizens.
The four courts will be dug to be able to accommodate more vehicles, with the third and top floor to be used as the tennis courts. Three fast lanes and one for the elderlies will be placed there, he
said.
“We cannot go any higher since again, the view will be blocked,” he said. Meanwhile, as the extension of the big grandstand is about to be finished, the placements of the four flood lamps will rise at the Baguio City High School side near the future sports complex and one adjacent or at the bandstand, while two more will rise at the opposite ends near the big grandstand. Dela Pena said that the PhP49 million grandstand extension is on the last stages of its construction with just the installation of the bleachers to be made.
Earlier, dela Pena told the city council that they will not repeat the errors made in the construction of sports facilities in the past here that bidders must have the experience in building sports complex and with good track record to qualify.
Dela Pena told city councilors that the envisioned sports facility will “comply with international standard” which is now assured after consultations with the Philippine Sports Commission including Noel Elnar, chief architect in the building of the Clark sports complex used during the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.
Dela Pena said they approached the PSC “because we are not really experts in this kind of endeavor.” And he said that it took them six months “to revise the design prepared” by the City Building and Architect Office and “changed by PSC to comply with international standard.” Dela Pena said: “(We) assure you that we will not get a contractor who has not done a sports complex, and must show us proof that the contractor have done it.”
Dela Pena said that they will be now very careful and get the contractor best suited for the construction of the sports complex cum youth convergence center and avoid mistakes on the design of facilities within the Baguio athletic bowl like the swimming pool and track, which do not follow international standard.
“The swimming pool and the track are short,” admitted dela Pena during the city council session adding that the track is three meter short.
Pigeon Lobien/ABN