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I went over to Iglesia Ni Cristo’s new stadium in Bocaue, Bulacan on Tuesday. I came off very impressed with what I saw.
The stadium seats 25,000 and was designed and built by a Korean firm called Phildipphil.
Here is the facade of the main entrance.
Here is how it looks inside, before you get into the playfield.
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More general views of the inside.
Note the scoreboard. There are two on either end.
The field is within that shockingly blue track. Attorney Ed measured it and a 68 by 105 meter pitch will just about fit. Excellent!
Here is what the good ol’ natural grass surface looks like. The grass is bermuda-like, but superior to the stuff in old Rizal, which I found a bit “floppy.” This grass may allow the ball to sit up better. The field looks like it has been taken care of and with a bit more rest it could be ready for play.
There seem to be outlets for sprinklers on the sides and in the pitch itself. There’s also drainage that runs around the whole field.
The surface itself is very flat. The “crown effect,” where the sides are lower than the center of the pitch, is not nearly as pronounced as it is in Rizal Memorial. As long as the the drains whisk away water quickly, this is fine.
I like the fact that the seating is raised about two and a half meters above the surface of the field. It makes it very difficult for spectators to invade the pitch without hurting themselves and/or looking like total douchebags, dangling from railings. Here’s a good look.
I just wish that the seating was a bit closer to the track. There are long jump runways on both sides, I believe. But the spectators are still much closer to the action than they are in Panaad, where in between the grandstand and the long jump, there is still some space.
You may have noticed those windows in between the two rings of seating. They may look like luxury boxes, but in fact they are entrances to the seating from the stadium concourse.
I quite like the high-back chairs. They hold you in place well, since the edge of the seat is higher than the back. By the way the floors are covered with a grippy, sandpaper like finish that will prevent people from slipping, even in the rain. Great touch.
Here is the view from the second row. If you sit on the first row, the rails block your view of the pitch.
I wish the walkway was designed in the back of the seating sections and not the front, so that walking spectators will not block the view of those seated. In a lot of European stadia the front row is flush to the rail.
This is a common mistake made by stadium designers in the Philippines. You have the same issue in the University of Makati and Emperador.
Oh and as you can see by this picture, the upper ring of seating is ever so slightly more steeply raked than the lower ring. Very nice. Spectators in this upper ring have therefore much less chance of getting their view obstructed by some tall dude with a Marouane Fellaini afro.
This is the VIP box.
There is a similar box on the other side. The VIP box has seats with GOLD UPHOLSTERY and an elevator that goes directly into it.
"Would you like some champagne with your canapes, Mr. Blatter?"
Here are details of the steel structures that support the cantilevered roof. (At least I think it’s a cantilever. Architects, please correct me if I’m wrong. I could just be using the word somewhat pretentiously.) Note the thin steel cables.
Here are the lights on the roof. Since the roof is high, the lights will not blind players who look up, like they do in Rizal.
There is no opening in the middle from the dressing rooms. Instead there are openings to the pitch on the corners. Teams may go to the center of the field before a match diagonally from the corners. That’s okay, many old stadiums in England are like that.
This is how the corner entrance looks. PFF Gen Sec Attorney Gastanes likes this because it allows easy access to an ambulance.
The showers. Attorney Ed says there are a suitable number of them for a World Cup qualifier. The locker rooms are a wee bit tight, but at least there are four of them, two on each side.
Plenty of rooms around there too for a variety of purposes, but I don’t recall seeing one quite big enough for a large post-match press conference, in my opinion. I could be wrong, though.
Panorama from just in front of the VIP box.
Selfie. Just to prove I was really there.
The stadium isn’t quite finished yet. There is still a lot to be done in terms of the detailing. I doubt very much if any of the 2014 Suzuki Cup matches could be played here. But World Cup qualifiers next year? Why not?!
I cannot wait for this joint to be rocking and filled to the brim for an Azkals game.
But more than anything else…. THANK YOU IGLESIA NI CRISTO!!
Briones (hand in the air) exults in his goal.
Global, Ceres, seal UFL League Cup final showdown.
Global close in on the UFL treble with hard-won 2-1 semifinal victory against Loyola on Tuesday night at the Rizal Memorial Football stadium. Global meets Ceres in the final.
Filipino-Mexican Edgar Briones opened the scoring late with a header in the 78th minute off a header pass from Izo Elhabbib off a Jerry Barbaso cross.
Minutes later Global made it 2-0 when substitute Paolo Bugas threaded a neat through ball to Mark Hartmann, who offloaded to Elhabbib for a scuffed but ultimately effective finish.
A stoppage-time penalty by Phil Younghusband was the Sparks’ only consolation.
It was a magnificent day for Mindanao football. Global played three of them from the island and they were ll terrific. Bugas, from Nabunturan, Compostela Valley, served up several useful through balls while Dipolognon Barbaso, apart from the cross on the opener, stopped James Younghusband with a superbly-timed tackle in the box in the first half. Davaoeno Amani Aguinaldo was key in knocking Phil Younghusband off his rhythm.
Patrick Deyto stoned Phil Younghusband twice, not a bad effort considering he flew in from Qatar only a few hours earlier, and also had to endure a bus ride from Clark, his airport of entry.
Mark Hartmann very nearly scored in the second half with a curling free kick that Loyola keeper Baba Sampana parried clear.
Both coaches blasted the scheduling that will require some players to play six games in less than three weeks for club and flag in three different countries. Sparks coach Simon McMemeny called the schedule “ridiculous,” and lauded Ceres’ decision to withhold players from Azkals duty as “a professional decision.”
His opposite number, Global’s Leigh Manson, bemoaned the schedule as “a recipe for injury.”
In the second match Ceres defeated Pachanga 3-1. The Busmen roared back from a 1-0 deficit following a Park Yi Young free kick goal with three unanswered goals from Jason Sabio, Adrian Gallardo and Manny Ott. Ott came on as a second half sub. According to Ali Go, Ceres club director, the Azkal was on a yellow, hence they wanted to ensure he wouldn’t get disqualified for the final with a second caution.
Victorino Son and Jinho Kim shone for Ceres with their pace and skill.
Ceres looks like the fittest side in the league. They seemed to have plenty of gas left in the tank in the endgame.
Source: ph.yahoonews
Source: ph.yahoonews
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