Philippine Sports Stadium

Not to be confused with PhilSports Football and Athletics Stadium.

The Philippine Sports Stadium, also known as Iglesia ni Cristo Stadium, is a football and track stadium at Ciudad de Victoria, a 140-hectare (350-acre) tourism enterprise zone in the towns of Bocaue and Santa Maria, Bulacan, Philippines.^[2] The stadium was built right next to the Philippine Arena, the world's largest indoor arena.^[3] It is one of the largest football stadiums in the Philippines with a maximum seating capacity of 20,000.^[4] Its seating capacity is about twice the seating capacity of the Rizal Memorial Stadium which has a capacity of 12,873.^[5][6]

Philippine Sports Stadium

PSS
The PSS football field in November 2014
Location	Ciudad de Victoria, Santa Maria, Bulacan, Philippines
Coordinates	14°47′41″N 120°57′2″E
Owner	Iglesia ni Cristo
Operator	Maligaya Development Corporation[1]
Capacity	20,000 (seated)
Acreage	3 hectares (7.4 acres)
Surface	Grass
Construction
Broke ground	August 17, 2011
Opened	July 21, 2014
Architect	Phildipphil
Project manager	Iglesia ni Cristo New San Jose Builders Generation Design Asia
Structural engineer	Phildipphil
Main contractors	Phildipphil
Tenants
Philippines national football team (2014–) University of the Philippines track and field team
Website
www.facebook.com/OfficialPhilippineArena

PWP Landscape Architecture is responsible for the landscaping work on the area around the stadium dubbed as the Stadium Gardens.^[7]

In December 2016, it was reported that the track and field team of the University of the Philippines is a tenant of the stadium.^[8]

Sporting events

Stadium exterior

Football

Club

The first football match and major sporting event to be held at the Philippine Sports Stadium was between clubs Global and Yadanarbon on April 15, 2015. About 2,000 people attended the match. The Philippine-based Global defeated Yadanarbon of Myanmar, 4–1 in a group stage match at the 2015 AFC Cup.^[9][10][11] Mark Hartmann was the first football player to make a goal at the stadium scoring at the 16th minute from a penalty kick. Yan Paing was the first foreigner and football player from a foreign-based club to make a goal at the stadium scoring the lone goal for his team at the 19th minute.^[12]

International

The first full international game held in the stadium was between the Philippines and Bahrain which took place on June 11, 2015 as part of the second round of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. The Philippines defeated Bahrain 2–1 with Misagh Bahadoran scoring his first international goal in the 50th minute which is also the first goal made for a national team side at the stadium. Javier Patiño was the other scorer for the Philippine side scoring 10 minutes later after Bahadoran's goal. Abdulwahab Al Malood scored a consolation goal for Bahrain in 3 minutes into extra time, becoming the first goalscorer for a foreign national team side. The match was attended by about 6,000 people.^[13][14]

Rugby union

The first rugby tournament held in the stadium was the 2015 Asian Rugby Championship Division 1 tournament, which hosted the teams of Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka, Singapore and the Philippines on May 6 and 9, 2015. The first rugby match was a match between Singapore and the Philippines held on May 6, with the hosts winning the match in extra time with the scoreline of 20–17. The Philippines later lost to Sri Lanka in the finals with the scoreline of 14–27.^[15][16][17]

Other events

The stadium has also been used for concerts and non-sporting events. Along with the Philippine Arena, the Philippine Sports Stadium was used as a venue for the Iglesia ni Cristo's centennial celebration event held on July 27, 2014 with the stadium filled with 20,000 people during the rites.^[18] The stadium also held concerts of local artists as part of the 2015 New Year's Countdown event.^[1] K-pop group Seventeen was the first overall act to headline a concert at the Philippine Sports Stadium, with their two-night stop as part of their Follow Tour, followed by NCT 127 with their one-night concert the week after, also part of their world tour.^[19][20]

See also

• List of football stadiums in the Philippines
• New Clark City Athletics Stadium
• Biñan Football Stadium
• Panaad Stadium
• PFF National Training Center

References

1. Conception, Pocholo (December 21, 2014). "Holiday treat: 2-night concerts at the Philippine Sports Stadium, all for P500". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved June 15, 2015.
2. Donna, Cueto-Ibanez (July 20, 2014). "Iglesia opens world's largest indoor arena for centennial rites". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved July 20, 2014.
3. "Hanwha E&C Completes World's Largest Indoor Arena Construction in the Philippines". The Korea Bizwire. June 10, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
4. Albelda, Josh (April 15, 2015). "IN PHOTOS: A glimpse inside the Philippine Sports Stadium". Rappler. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
5. "Rizal Memorial or Philippine Stadium? Azkals manager asks fans preferred Suzuki Cup semis venue". InterAksyon.com. November 25, 2014. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
6. "Azkals game at INC stadium eyed". Yahoo! News. Manila Bulletin. July 31, 2014. Retrieved November 27, 2014.
7. "New Era University Philippine Arena". PWP Landscape Architecture. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
8. "World's biggest arena welcomes 2017 with a bang". The Manila Times. December 22, 2016. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
9. Noveanto, Eric (April 11, 2015). "Philippine Sports Stadium to host first international fixture". Football Channel Asia. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
10. Murillo, Michael Angelo (April 16, 2015). "Global FC scores first AFC Cup win". Business Mirror. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
11. Leyba, Olmin (April 15, 2015). "Global FC faces Myanmar". The Philippine Star. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
12. "Match Summary Global F.C v. Yadanarbon". Asian Football Confederation. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
13. Tupas, Cedelf (June 12, 2015). "Match Ratings: Philippines vs Bahrain". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
14. Songalia, Ryan (June 12, 2015). "Azkals stun Bahrain 2-1 in World Cup qualifier upset". Rappler. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
15. "PH Stadium venue of Asian rugby tilt". Philippine Daily Inquirer. April 1, 2015. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
16. Navarro, June (May 7, 2015). "Asian Rugby: Volcanoes repulse Singaporeans in extra time". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
17. Reyes, Jaelle Nevin (May 10, 2015). "PH settles for 2nd in Asian Rugby". The Manila Times. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
18. "INC centennial event sets world record: crowd at Bocaue said to have reached 2M". Philippine Daily Inquirer. July 27, 2014. Retrieved June 15, 2015.
19. Bernardo, Jaehwa (January 15, 2024). "Dream fulfilled as Seventeen delivers epic PH stadium show". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
20. Bernardo, Jaehwa (November 29, 2023). "NCT 127's 'The Unity' concert in Bulacan: Seat map, ticket prices". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved November 29, 2023.