Araneta Coliseum

The Araneta Coliseum, also currently known by naming rights sponsorship as Smart Araneta Coliseum, is an indoor multi-purpose sports arena that is part of the Araneta City in the Cubao area of Quezon City, Philippines. Nicknamed as "the Big Dome", it is one of the largest indoor arenas in Asia, and one of the largest clear span domes in the world. The dome measures approximately 108.0 meters (354.3 ft) making it the largest dome in Asia from its opening in 1960 until 2001 when it was surpassed by the Ōita Stadium in Japan with a dome measuring 274.0 meters (899.0 ft).[8]

Araneta Coliseum
The Big Dome
Araneta Coliseum in 2017
Araneta Coliseum is located in Manila
Araneta Coliseum
Araneta Coliseum
Location in Metro Manila
Full nameSmart Araneta Coliseum
Former namesAraneta Coliseum Cinema, Philippine Coliseum, and Shell Coliseum
LocationAraneta City, Cubao, Quezon City, Metro Manila
Coordinates14°37′14″N 121°3′12″E
Public transitMetro interchange Araneta Center-Cubao
Metro interchange 3 Araneta Center-Cubao
Bus interchange  51  53  61  Farmers Plaza
Bus interchange  3  LRT 2-Gateway Mall
Bus interchange UBE  Araneta City Bus Port
Bus interchange  1  Cubao
Parking1,500 parking spaces (Araneta City Parking Garage South)[1]
OwnerProgressive Development Corporation
OperatorUnited Promotions, Inc. (Uniprom)
CapacityBasketball: 14,429[2]
Concert: 9,679[3]
Boxing: 15,895[4]
Full house: 16,035[5] to 20,000[6]
Record attendance25,000–50,000[7]
ScoreboardADSystems 4-side LED display (Big Cube), OES ISC9000 Controller, and Homeworks Trading timer
Construction
Broke ground1957
Built1958
OpenedMarch 16, 1960 (1960-03-16)
Renovated1999
2014
2023
Construction cost₱6 million (1958)
ArchitectDominador Lugtu
Tenants
NCAA (1960–2012, 2017–2018, 2022–present)
UAAP (1960–present)
PBA (1975–1984, 1995–present)
Website
https://smartaranetacoliseum.com/

The Smart Araneta Coliseum is mostly used for indoor sports such as basketball and volleyball. It is a main venue of the Philippine Basketball Association[9] and for the basketball games of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the University Athletic Association of the Philippines throughout various game seasons. The Big Dome is also used for other sports and events such as boxing, cockfighting, local and international concerts, circuses, religious gatherings, and beauty pageants.[10]

History
Araneta Coliseum during its construction
Araneta Coliseum during the 1960s

In 1952, J. Amado Araneta, a member of the Araneta family, purchased from Radio Corporation of America (RCA) 35 hectares (86 acres) of land in Cubao which includes the Araneta family home and is bounded by Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue or EDSA, Aurora Boulevard, P. Tuazon and 15th Avenue.

The Araneta Coliseum was constructed from 1957 to late 1959 and designed and built by Architect Dominador Lacson Lugtu and Engineer Leonardo Onjunco Lugtu. From 1960 to 1963, the Coliseum was recognized as the largest covered coliseum in the world.[11] Today, it remains one of the largest clear span domes in the world with a dome diameter of 108 meters.

The coliseum opened on March 16, 1960, with Gabriel "Flash" Elorde boxing for the World Junior Lightweight crown against Harold Gomes. General admission then was 80 centavos, and the reserve section was five pesos. The coliseum also featured a swimming pool and a gazebo during its opening, located to the current site of the Araneta City Parking Garage South and the Novotel Manila Araneta City. However, the featured facilities closed down a few years later.[12]

Among the notable events to take place at the arena were the 11th and 34th FAMAS Awards, the 1975 "Thrilla in Manila" boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, in which the arena was renamed into the "Philippine Coliseum", and the annual Binibining Pilipinas beauty pageant. The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) has played more than a thousand games at the Araneta Coliseum as of today. Other basketball events hosted by the arena were the 1978 FIBA World Championship, a game between the 1978 NBA champions Washington Bullets and a PBA selection in 1979, and the 1982 Asian Youth Basketball Championship where the Philippines defeated China in the final.[13]

In the third quarter of 1998, the Aranetas and Pilipinas Shell (local arm of Royal Dutch Shell) started negotiations for a naming rights deal that would have lasted until 2008. The Aranetas, who wanted to retain their name at the arena rejected the proposed name "Shell Coliseum at the Araneta Center". Instead, the parties agreed on a contract where Shell's name and logo will be painted at the arena's basketball court, a move that was almost shelved due to objections from other PBA teams because Shell owned the then-PBA team, the Shell Turbo Chargers.[14]

Araneta Coliseum logo from 1999 to 2011 prior to naming rights deal with Smart Communications.
The Araneta Coliseum with the "Big Cube" LED display during a PBA game between the San Miguel Beermen and Barangay Ginebra Kings in 2011. This photo was taken before the naming rights with Smart Communications took effect.

In 1999, the coliseum underwent its first major renovation at the cost of ₱200 million.[15] The major changes include the renovation of the lower box area, replacement of seats for the patron and lower box sections, and installation of a four-sided center-hung scoreboard. The section names were also given numerical designations: 100 for Patron section, 200 for Lower Box, 300 for Upper Box A, and 400 for Upper Box B. In 2006, an LED display was added to the scoreboard.

From 2001 to 2008, the highest-grossing event at the arena is the Pacquiao vs. Larios boxing fight between Manny Pacquiao and Óscar Larios, earning 96.2 million Philippine pesos. A concert by Westlife was attended by 17,887 people and earned ₱18.5 million, while a Cliff Richard concert earned ₱17.2 million despite being watched by 5,647 spectators.[13]

Prior to the Ultimate All-Star Weekend in July 2011, it was announced that the Aranetas entered into a naming rights deal with mobile network operator Smart Communications, Inc. (a subsidiary of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company), renaming the arena into "Smart Araneta Coliseum". The 5-year naming rights deal includes improvements and renovations to the arena such as the installation of curved escalators to improve access in the upper box and general admission areas (the plan was subsequently cancelled due to undisclosed reasons), and the construction of a parking lot that can accommodate up to 2,000 cars. The overall renovation project of the coliseum costed ₱1 billion.[14]

Additional improvements for the renovation of the coliseum were made in 2012, including the renovation of the Red Gate entrance and the Green Gate side facade, landscaped surroundings, and the replacement of Upper Box level seats, thus increasing its seating capacity.[16] The Lower Box and Patron sections were combined to make a new Patron section (100 and 200 level seats). A pathway between the former Patron and Lower Box sections was also made. The former Upper Box A section (300 level seats) was renamed as Box section and the former Upper Box B section (400 level seats) is now referred to as the "Upper Box" section. The renovation project of the coliseum was completed in June 2014.

On January 7, 2015, the Hydra-Rib basketball backboards first used in 1995 were replaced with Spalding ones. The backboards were first used in Game 1 of the 2014–15 PBA Philippine Cup Finals. On June 9, 2017, the OES SHOTS-14G7 shot clocks were replaced. The newer clocks were first used in Game 3 of the 2017 PBA Commissioner's Cup Quarterfinals match between the TNT Katropa and Meralco Bolts.

Ahead of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, the Araneta Coliseum underwent renovation. Renovation works included the replacement of the previous "Big Cube" LED video board with a slightly larger one, as well as the refurbishment of seating areas and renovation of team dugouts. [17]

Architecture and design

The Araneta Coliseum is an indoor arena designed by Dominador Lacson Lugtu. The sports venue has a large span dome with a diamter of 108 meters (354 ft) as its roof.[11] The dome is 37 meters (121 ft) high at its highest point.[18] The structure is supported by 48 concrete columns and 48 metal ribs.[19] It has a floor area of 2,300 square meters (25,000 sq ft).[11]

Richard de Leon of Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific did the steel framework of the venue – 4,965 aluminum sheets of gauge measuring 7.3 by 1.2 by 2.4 metres (24 ft × 4 ft × 8 ft) was devised. Steam-treated wood from a variety of Philippine hardwood such as apitong, tanguile and narra fitted using tongue and groove was also used as support.[19]

Notable events

Basketball
A photo inside the Smart Araneta Coliseum during the 2021 PBA Governors' Cup basketball game between the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and the NorthPort Batang Pier.

Araneta Coliseum, along with Mall of Asia Arena, is the primary venue of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) and the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) basketball.

It annually hosts every PBA Basketball Championship and NCAA Basketball Championship, as well as the regular season and off-season opening games and championships of UAAP Basketball, UNTV Cup, and Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League.

The SEABA U16 Championship on May 14 to 18, 2017 and 2017 SEABA Championship on May 15 to 21, 2017 were held in the arena, where the Philippines won their 4th SEABA U-16 and 8th SEABA title.

FIBA World Cups
Araneta Coliseum during the 2023 FIBA World Cup

The first FIBA Basketball World Cup (previously called FIBA World Championship) held in Asia was the 1978 FIBA World Championship in the Philippines on October 1 to 14, 1978. The arena was one of the two venues, alongside Rizal Memorial Coliseum, and was the venue for the final round.

It is also one of the venues for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup which is being hosted by the Philippines on August 25 to September 10, 2023, with co-hosts Japan and Indonesia. The tournament's final draw was held at the arena on April 29, 2023.[20] The arena hosted the first and 17th–32nd classification rounds.

Qualifiers

The arena has hosted qualifying events for the FIBA Basketball World Cups. It hosted some matches for the first round of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification for the FIBA Asia-Oceania in February 2022.

Boxing

The arena, which was temporarily renamed to "Philippine Coliseum" for the event, was the venue of the infamous Thrilla in Manila, the 1975 World Heavyweight Championship boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. It was the third and final match of the three-bout rivalry between the two boxers and was held on October 1, 1975.

Ali won by corner retirement (RTD) after Frazier's chief second asked the referee to stop the fight after the 14th round. The bout is universally regarded as one of the best and most brutal fights in boxing history. It was reportedly watched by a total of 1 billion viewers, and by 50,000 people inside the arena, breaching the venue's total design capacity of 36,000 people.

Volleyball

Araneta Coliseum regularly hosts the UAAP Volleyball championships. It is one of the four primary venue for the Premier Volleyball League along with Filoil EcoOil Centre, PhilSports Arena, and Mall of Asia Arena.

Quezon City was one of the host cities for the 2022 FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League preliminary round, with the arena hosting the pool 4 matches of the tournament from June 14 to 19, and the 2022 FIVB Volleyball Men's Nations League preliminary round pool 3 matches from June 21 to 26.

Entertainment events
Main article: Entertainment events at the Smart Araneta Coliseum

The coliseum also hosts other type of events including concerts, graduation ceremonies, seminars, ice shows, circuses, and beauty pageants.

From 1990 until 2016, the coliseum hosted Disney on Ice productions during the holiday season; since 2016, the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay began hosting these productions.[21]

During its early years in the 1960s, international acts who have performed at the coliseum included Holiday on Ice, Harlem Globetrotters, Nat King Cole, Johnny Mathis, Neil Sedaka, Jo Ann Campbell, Ricky Nelson, Paul Anka, The Ventures, The Everly Brothers and The Dave Clark Five.

Music concerts
Regine Velasquez on her R2K: The Concert at the coliseum in 2000.

Some notable international performers include Air Supply in 2008, Akon on July 4, 2009,[22] Kelly Clarkson as part of her All I Ever Wanted World Tour on May 1, 2010,[23] Incubus in 2008 and 2011, Carly Rae Jepsen in 2013 and 2015,[24] Lady Gaga as part of her The Fame Ball Tour on August 11, 2009, Avril Lavigne as part of her The Best Damn Tour on September 3, 2008,[25] The Black Star Tour on February 16, 2012[26] and the Avril Lavigne On Tour on February 17, 2014, Kylie Minogue as part of her Aphrodite: Les Folies Tour on July 5, 2011, Bruno Mars as part of his The Doo-Wops and Hooligans Tour on April 8, 2011, The Script (in 2011 and 2013), Snow Patrol (on August 9, 2012), Taylor Swift as part of her Speak Now Tour on February 19, 2011,[27] and Westlife in 2001, 2006, 2011, 2019, and 2023.[28] as well as the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2011 (on September 21 and 22, 2011),[29] and the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2012 (on September 21, 2012).[30] Following her performance with the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2012 five months prior, Filipino-American American Idol runner-up Jessica Sanchez had her first sold out solo concert at the coliseum on February 14, 2013.[31] American singer-songwriter Lauv performed at the coliseum as part of his How I'm Feeling tour, on May 20, 2019. Additionally, Lauv also premiered his new single, Sad Forever during his concert.

The coliseum also housed K-pop artists like Super Junior's Super Show-the first Korean to perform in the arena, 2NE1, SS501, CNBLUE, Beast and EXO.[32][33] K-Pop group U-KISS also had their concert at the big dome and later released into a concert DVD dubbed as U-KISS 1st Kiss Tour in Manila DVD.[34] It was the first time that an international artist released a concert DVD featuring the coliseum. GOT7's first fan meeting in Manila was also held in the Coliseum last November 14, 2015.

On April 14, 2018, Sarah Geronimo held her 15th showbiz anniversary concert called "This Is Me" stylized as "This 15 Me" at the Araneta Coliseum. The sold-out concert was reported as the "Highest Grossing Local Concert of All-time." Netflix acquired the rights to stream the concert film starting in August 2019 making Geronimo the first Southeast Asian artist to have a concert film on the said platform.

At the turn of the new millennium, Regine Velasquez held her iconic two-night sold-out concert entitled R2K: The Concert, in support of her album R2K, on April 7 and 8, 2000. R2K The Concert became the most attended concert at the coliseum with over 37,000 attendees, was center staged and has used the seating capacity to its 360-degree maximum.

Filipina female supergroup DIVAS, which is composed of Kyla, Yeng Constantino, KZ Tandingan and Angeline Quinto staged two concerts at the Araneta, their first concert titled DIVAS Live in Manila, and another one in 2018 with Boyz II Men titled Boyz II Men with DIVAS.

To date, the TNT BOYS are the youngest performers to stage a concert in the Coliseum between the ages of 12 and 14 with their Listen: The Big Shot Concert held on November 30, 2018.

Pageants

The arena has been the venue of the Binibining Pilipinas pageants annually since its inception in 1964. Mister World 2019 was also held on August 23, 2019, at the arena, the first time the Philippines hosted the pageant.

Other entertainment events

Religious events
Jesus Is Lord Church Worldwide (JILCW) KKB Youth Summit 2012, with then Philippine President Benigno Aquino III

The Big Dome also hosted a praise and worship concerts like Israel Houghton, Parachute Band, Don Moen, Bethel Music, Hillsong Worship, Sonicflood, Planetshakers, Planetboom, Hillsong Young & Free and Hillsong UNITED. Starting 2017, The Annual Planetshakers Conference is being held at the coliseum.[46]

The Big Dome is also the venue of religious gatherings like the anniversary celebration of Ang Dating Daan (English: The Old Path, the flagship program of the Members Church of God International), Christ's Commission Fellowship, Iglesia ni Cristo, International Convention of Pentecostal Missionary Church of Christ (4th Watch), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Philippines, Jesus Is Lord Church Worldwide, Jesus Miracle Crusade, Kingdom of Jesus Christ: The Name Above Every Name (during early years), Shalom CCFI (Every Holy Week), the Special Assembly of Jehovah's Witnesses and Victory Christian Fellowship.[47]

Other
Araneta Coliseum as vaccination site during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Attendance records

On October 1, 1975, when the Thrilla in Manila took place, the Coliseum was filled with more than 50,000 people despite the hot & humid temperatures, and breaching the total design capacity back then of the Coliseum, consisting of over 36,000 people.[7]

On October 15, 2014, the third game of the UAAP Season 77 Men's Basketball Tournament Finals Series between the FEU Tamaraws and NU Bulldogs set the all-time basketball attendance record of 25,138 which broke the previous record last October 8, 2014, the second game of the series (one week before the third game) attendance of 24,896.[52]

For the PBA, On February 12, 2014, the seventh game of the 2013–14 PBA Philippine Cup Semifinals series between Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and San Mig Super Coffee Mixers set the record of 24,883.[53]

Type Event Attendance Date Ref.
Overall Thrilla in Manila 50,000 (est.) October 1, 1975 [7]
Basketball FEU Tamaraws vs. NU Bulldogs
UAAP Season 77 Men's Basketball Tournament Finals		 25,138 October 15, 2014 [52]
Boxing Thrilla in Manila 50,000 (est.) October 1, 1975 [7]

See also

References
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