TARLAC CITY (PIA) -- New Clark City (NCC) Athletics Stadium is one of the nominees in the Sport-Completed Buildings category of World Architecture Festival.
 
The event takes place on December 1-3, 2021 at FIL Exhibition Center in Lisbon, Portugal.
 
Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) President Vince Dizon welcomed the recognition and congratulated the architectural partner for the stadium, as well as the thousands of workers who made the Athletics Stadium a reality.
 
“We thank the World Architecture Festival for giving its nod to the NCC Athletics Stadium. It is another testament to the ingenuity of the stadium’s design and structure. Indeed, this is more proof that Filipinos can also be champions in producing outstanding facilities that are on par with other architectural masterpieces in the world,” Dizon said. 
 
“This would not have been possible without the hard work of all the workers who completed this facility within a short period of 18 months. To our partners in Budji + Royal Architecture + Design, thank you for designing a structure that best showcases the beauty of the Filipino spirit to the rest of the globe,” he added.
 
For his part, CEO of Budji + Royal and Principal Architect Royal Pineda said he is glad and proud to have this opportunity to share the NCC Athletic Stadium's internationally.
 
"That was the objective anyway–to present our variety as modern Filipinos through architecture and design," Pineda said.
 
He also expressed his appreciation for BCDA, who shared the same vision of a modern Philippines in their collaboration on the project.
 
“We were on the same creative wavelength. Given critical deadlines, BCDA’s leadership was a key element. It allowed things to move with precision, which ensured timely and quality turnover, setting new government standards,” he said.
 
The facility’s design was executed by MTD Philippines Inc., BCDA's development partner in New Clark City. This is the first major sports hub constructed by the government since the completion of the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in 1934. 
 
It is also the first-ever facility in the country to receive a Class 1 certification from World Athletics, which was formerly known as International Association of Athletics Federations.
 
The structure has a 20,000-seating capacity, a nine-lane 400-meter track and field, and another four-lane warm-up track. It hosted the athletics events and Closing Ceremony of the 30th Southeast Asian Games in 2019. (CLJD/GLSB-PIA 3)