The Mall of Asia Arena

The Philippines is one of the most talked about countries these past few months. The reports are about the extrajudicial killings, President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs campaign, and the dispute about the West Philippines Sea territories between the Asian countries. Though most of the news gives negative impact and views about the country, there are still beautiful things that tourists can look forward to if they plan to visit here.

The country is composed of more than seven thousand islands. Therefore, tourists can expect that there are tons of beaches that they can visit. Furthermore, the economy is currently booming due to numerous musicians and celebrities from western countries visiting and performing in the Mall of Asia Arena.

One of the famous arenas in the Southeast Asia is the Mall of Asia Arena. It is an indoor arena within the SM Mall of Asia complex in Pasay, Philippines. It is owned by SM Investments Corporation and managed by SM Lifestyle Entertainment, Inc., also the managing arm of SM Cinema. The Mall of Asia Arena began construction in 2010 and officially opened on June 16, 2012. The arena is integrated with shopping and entertainment experience at the Mall of Asia complex. It is the latest and biggest venture to rise at the foremost entertainments and retail destination. It is figuratively and quite literally an architectural ‘eyecon’.

The Mall of Asia Arena is priding itself on exceptional and world-standard amenities unique in all of Southeast Asia. The head of SM Group of Companies and a well-known business tycoon, Henry Sy, Sr. is said to be much involved in the project. The aesthetics of the arena were thoroughly conceptualized and the details of the construction were well studied. The land area is an impressive size of 64,085 square meters, with the arena equipped with state-of-the-art technology and world-class facilities. The arena has a massive all-glass façade, with a seating capacity of 15,000 and a full-house capacity of 20,000. The place is a five-level ultramodern events venue that has Robbins floorings, eight-sided, center-hung scoreboards by Daktroniks, retractable Spalding basketball goals and LED ribbon board – all of NBA standards. CCTV cameras with professional-grade, high-resolution were provided by Mobotrix, the same one company that equips the Vatican Apostolic Library at the Vatican. The arena has 16 smoking lounges, 10 elevators, 34 units of escalators, and special access lanes for PWDs. Furthermore, there are four dug-outs, mess hall for an event’s technical team, a room exclusive for a press conference, and the special area for meet-and-greet area for the artists and their fans – all of it complying with the international standards. In terms of parking, they have more than 2,000 parking space with an additional 1,400 more accessible at the neighboring Mall of Asia Arena Annex building.

With its façade having a distinctive eye-shape, it symbolizes the arena’s promise of delivering top-notch entertainment to its audience. The President of SM Lifestyle Entertainment, Mr. Edgar Tejerero, wanted to promote local talents using the arena. Moreover, they are hoping that Manila will soon become an excellent promoter and target of tourists for entertainment and sporting events. As soon as the arena was opened, it became a venue for several events like entertainment, sports, religious, and a venue for economic leaders. Several concerts were held in the arena performed by famous artists including Lady Gaga, Demi Lovato, Ariana Grande, Mariah Carey, Rihanna, Jennifer Lopez, Nicki Minaj, Alicia Keys, Zedd, Bruno Mars, Aerosmith, Paramore, Taylor Swift, Imagine Dragons, Maroon 5, Ed Sheeran, and Chris Brown. It is also a playing venue for the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), and Shakey’s V-League. On October 10, 2013, NBA played their first preseason game here featuring Houston Rockets versus the Indiana Pacers. When Pope Francis visited the country, an event was also held at the arena where there was a dialogue between the Pope and Filipino families. It also served as a venue for the welcome dinner for visiting economic leaders participating at the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting.

This 2017, several major events and concerts will be held at the Mall of Asia Arena. The events include 65^th Miss Universe competition which will take place on January 30; there is also Shawn Mendez’s concert on March 18; Coldplay also included Philippines in their A Head Full of Dream Tour that will happen on April 4, and it will be followed by Fifth Harmony’s 727 Tour on April 5. In case your favorite band isn’t coming in your country, you can choose to visit the Philippines to attend their concert and then go to several tourist destinations.