Athletes and sports enthusiasts are excited to see new facilities slowly shaping up in the University. Among these facilities are the Davao City-UP and UP Diliman sports complexes. With features at par with world-class standards, they are expected to boost sports not only in the University but in the entire country as well where there is a lack of sports venues available to the public.
First to be constructed for the UP Diliman Sports Complex is the football stadium. Several tons of dirt were hauled to the site to raise, level, and compact the grounds. An intricate drainage system was then constructed for the facility. The artificial turf for the football field has passed rigorous certification by FIFA. Soon to rise are outdoor lighting and the grandstand.
The facility is expected to boost the performance of the UP men’s varsity football team, which is a perennial champion in the UAAP. The women’s team struck gold in Season 78.
Government-funded, an all-weather track oval and a bigger grandstand will be constructed alongside the field.
The grounds near the old UP Gymnasium are being prepared for the construction of the new UP Diliman Swimming Pool and Stadium, which is expected to be finished next year. The only other swimming pool in Quezon City to approximate Olympic size is largely unmaintained, located at the Amoranto Sports Complex.
After the swimming pool, the softball field will be constructed in the area in front of the UP Vanguard Building near the Ylanan entrance.
UP MPRO)
In the Davao City-UP Sports Complex, the training gym and the multipurpose building for the football field and track oval are almost complete. With the hope of hosting international competitions, the football field and track oval are currently being prepared for the installation of FIFA-tested and certified artificial turf and an IAAF-certified synthetic track oval.
Next in line are the Aquatics Center, featuring an Olympic-sized swimming pool, warm-up/warm-down pool, a diving pool, and spaces required by the Fédération Internationale de Natation.
Hopefully, they will all be ready for Davao City’s hosting of the Palarong Pambansa, or the Department of Education’s youth games and the Davao Regional Athletics Association games next year.
In 2015, UP and Davao City signed an agreement in which UP Mindanao provided a 20-hectare site for the complex, while the City of Davao would construct facilities at par with international standards.
Read the online UP Forum April-June 2018 Vol. 19 No. 2 issue in full here.
