I missed experiencing the UAAP finals. Like thousands of other aficionados, I missed it because there were no more tickets available. Yes, I watched it on TV, but seeing it on screen versus experiencing it live, just isn’t the same ballgame. I've watched some games live before, both professional and university basketball games, and the intensity is certainly different from merely watching it on TV. With an Ateneo-La Salle finals classic such as the one last Thursday, the thrill and emotions involved are incomparable to any other local sport. Just imagine the reaction of the Ateneo crowd every time Nonoy Baclao makes a block or when Jai Reyes makes a three point shot! But enough of basketball, let’s go on to the main point--my true color is definitely showing.
I just wished there had been more seats available. The event could have netted twice more than the maximum seating capacity of the big dome at 23,000. The Araneta Coliseum, the country’s “Big Dome”, was built almost 50 years ago and was conceptualized when the national population was a mere one-fourth of what it is today. Now that we have a plethora of enormous events in sports, music, politics, and even religious services, we still need to squeeze into this venue of old. It seems to me that the time is ripe for a bigger one.
I can envision a huge hall at the Mall of Asia area. I can only wish that Mr. Henry Sy or any of our forward-thinking real estate tycoons would initiate one soon. I learned that Cebu is planning to build a similar one. We keep building bigger and bigger exhibition halls to accommodate more product launches and seminar participants, such as the World Trade Center
Some could argue that by getting too big, the audience’s view suffers. This may be true; however, the situation is easily resolved by installing big screens at appropriate spots so the details of the central activity can be viewed and the intensity still experienced. The thrill is not just in watching shows live, but in experiencing it beside tens of thousands who share the same passion. The Beyoncé concert attracted 70,000 spectators and, despite risk of rain and discomfort of heat, the organizers had to hold it on an open field, for lack of venue. Manny Paquiao would be even more inspired if twice the number of his fans could witness him delivering those deadly blows. In a country that goes gaga over megastars and generous game show hosts, we lack the venues to watch them.
I believe it's high time we build a new mega-venue. Beijing ’s new super-structure, their National Stadium, ensconced next to the Tiananmen Square and nicknamed ‘the egg’, has a capacity of 91,000 seated spectators. Appropriately, the hullaballoo it has generated for their country has been amazing. Similarly, the national stadium of Malaysia
It would be great for our national pride and reputation to have a comparable venue of our own, to host major concerts or fights of international caliber, wherein people from the Asean region can flock to watch. It would be a definite boost to our tourism industry.
The government can likewise spearhead the construction of such a venue. Aside from benefiting the tourism industry, the Filipino can eventually expect to avail of lower prices for first-class shows, since use of the venue will be amortized over the years. The structure will generate both income and prestige for the country. It can even be an iconic structure, something that showcases the Filipino soul and represents his vision. Truly, the need for a bigger venue is there; but the bigger need is for a new, representative structure behind which the Filipino people can rally. Right now, it is a need for one Filipino undertaking, a common Filipino dream.
No comments:
Post a Comment