Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama is seeking investors to build a new stadium at the sprawling South Road Properties (SRP).
鈥淥ur concept here is that it should not only be a super dome but a super multi-purpose structure (on a build-operate-transfer scheme),鈥� he said yesterday.
Rama made the announcement as he cited the near commotion last week at the Cebu Coliseum during the championship match between the University of the Visayas (UV) and the Southwestern University (SWU).
He said the coliseum, which was the venue of a world title bout between Bogo鈥檚 pride, Gabriel 鈥淔lash鈥� Elorde and Japanese Teuo Kosaka in the early 1960s, was bursting at the seams during the Cesafi final match.
The commotion due to the overcrowding at the coliseum prompted Rama to intervene and appealed for calm by speaking through a public address system.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not a question of having a market for it.聽 If we want to continue to be competitive as a highly urbanized city, we don鈥檛 have to think about (whether or not we have) a market for it,鈥� he said.
Rama said his planned stadium should not be compared with the provincial government鈥檚 Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) which is barely used.
Roberto 鈥淏o鈥� Varquez, the SRP manager, said the city government could accommodate the mayor鈥檚 planned stadium on a seven-hectare lot located near the Cebu City Hall block.
About two-hectares of the property will be developed into a park while the remaining five hectares will be set aside for the proposed stadium.
An alternative site, Rama said, is the vacant lot located after the Mambaling bridge before the SM Prime Holding鈥檚 project site. Varquez said Cebu City鈥檚 stadium won鈥檛 be competing with the convention center which SM will also be building at the SRP because it will cater to different markets.
Rama said he wanted the city鈥檚 stadium design to be similar to the Kaoshiung stadium in Taiwan in which the structure can be converted into function areas. /Chief of Reporters Doris C. Bongcac