Feature: Panaad Stadium in Bacolod City, Negros OccidentalBy Rai Montero and Rick Olivares
Exactly a year ago, all roads in Bacolod led to Panaad Stadium. People from all over the country gathered to witness the Philippine Men’s Football National Team open their 2011 season with an AFC Challenge Cup qualifying match against Mongolia.
And the Azkals did not disappoint the 15,000-plus people who watched the game live and quarter million people who caught the game on television.
Emelio “Chieffy” Caligdong delivered a fantastic goal while striker Phil Younghusband added another one for good measure right before the fireworks colored the night sky.
Unknown to most people, this wasn’t the first time the Azkals played at Panaad Stadium. In fact, it was here in Bacolod where the national teams were wholeheartedly embraced long before Azkals mania.
But what exactly transpired in Panaad Stadium before that dazzling win over Mongolia? We’ll try and answer that.
The stadium was constructed in August 1997, to become the central venue for the Centennial Palarong Pambansa in 1998, and it was finished exactly 15 days before the said event. The major challenge for the Provincial Government of Negros Occidental, with the late Vice-Governor Roy Gamboa spear-heading the project, was the time constraint. They were expected to have it finished a month before the opening of Centennial Palaro on May 27, 1998, but with a very supportive National Office, the stadium, alongside the whole complex was finally completed in the nick of time.
The stadium has a seating capacity of 15,000 to a maximum of 20,000 with standing areas. It has a center grass field measuring 111m x 71m, and encircling it is an Olympic standard track oval supplied by the Regupol AG of Germany.
The lower section of the stadium has dressing/Locker rooms, a workout room, a couple of offices, and rest room facilities. There’s a dorm-style facility on the top deck which can house more or less a 30-man line up.
Panaad Stadium also hosted a couple of national and international sporting events too. There was the Millennium Palarong Pambansa in 2000, a couple of Swimming Championships, National Underwater Hockey Championships game, and the ASEAN Secondary Level Track and Field Competition.
But it is the local and international football matches that have become synonymous with Panaad Stadium. The 2005 ASEAN Under-19 Football Championship and 2005 Asean Football Championships where Phil Younghusband first suited up for Philippines U-23 Squad and scored two goals was played before packed houses in Bacolod. Several events of the 23rd Southeast Asian Games where the Philippines topped with 113 golds, 84 silvers, and 94 bronze medals were likewise played here.
Just last year, the group stages of first PFF Suzuki U23 National Cup was set in Panaad. Home team Negros Occidental (NOFA), Dipolog, Masbate, and NCR Team B battled for the top two slots to qualify for the semis. In the finals, NOFA whipped old foe Iloilo, 9-0.
The best played who competed in the local Suzuki Cup were included in the Under-23 national team that competed in the SEA Games. Among the names were familiar U-23 players such as NCR’s Jinggoy Valmayor and Reymark Fernandez. NOFA’s Jake Morallo and Joshua Beloya, represented the country in the biennial games.
Said Morallo of Panaad Stadium: “The games we played in Panaad Stadium paved the way to where I’m at right now. We started to get notices and appreciated. The same credit goes to my teammates in Bacolod as well.”
Green Archer’s center back Lemuel Unabia, who is from Bacolod also waxed nostalgic about Panaad: “The stadium boosts our self confidence. It gives me the drive to play better, to show quality and high standard football games too”.
In September of 2011, the Azkals returned to Bacolod for a weeklong camp in preparation for the Long Teng Cup in Taiwan.
In October, also of the same year, the Philippine UK FC, Filipino-British players competing in the West Herts League in Division 1 in London, came for a 2 week long camp. They played against San Carlos FC, Don Bosco FC, Bacolod United and Ceres FC as part of their tune-ups. James and Ryan Hall are playing on this team, with the former as the team captain, and James Hall Sr. as the team coach.
Following the success of the Azkals, and the U23 National Cup Tourney, the province also started the 1st Negros Football Men’s Open Tournament, and Ceres FC bagged the title.
Aside from sporting events, Panaad Stadium and the surrounding theme Park which features the 13 cities and 19 municipalities of Negros Occidental, is the great home of Panaad sa Negros. a weeklong celebration of all the different festivals unique to each town or city.
Notes: After AFC Challenge Cup game against Mongolia, people were looking forward to another National Team match, but after issues on logistics, costs and all other issues, hopes of staging another international match dwindled down. Reports of Manny V. Pangilinan meeting with Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. for a possible expansion of the bleachers to increase seating capacity to 32, 000 circulated, but gradually died out.
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