Philippines to host 2019 SEA Games

Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Richie Garcia (Photo from FilAmNation.com/Albert Garcia)

MANILA – Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Richie Garcia has officially announced that the Philippines will be hosting the 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) first vice president Joey Romasanta has disclosed that their committee had already passed a resolution assuming the responsibility of hosting the said games, and would then relay their decision to the SEA Games Federation.

The 2019 SEA Games will be holding its events in facilities in Metro Manila and in nearby provinces. The projected budget, however, remains elusive.

“It’s very hard to make a projection (budget for the Games) because it will happen four years from now… But we have a general idea as to how much it will cost because we are not going to build any large infrastructure,” Garcia said.

Singapore, this year’s SEA Games host, has spent roughly $240 million. Malaysia, the 2017 SEA Games host, is likely to allot $180 million to $220 million.

“As far as cost is concerned, I don’t think the [Philippine’s] amount will be that big,” Garcia said.

“We’re going to maximize the use of existing facilities that we also used in the 2005 Games here, plus we will approach the [management of] Mall of Asia and Iglesia [Ni Cristo] for their facilities… [and] we’ll use Subic (Freeport) for watersports,” he added.

The Mall of Asia (MOA), owned and developed by the SM Prime Holdings, has an indoor arena with a full house seating capacity of 20,000 and an exhibition and convention center which can fit approximately 6,000 people.

Iglesia Ni Cristo’s Philippine Arena, on the other hand, is also an indoor arena with a maximum capacity of 55,000 people.

Both venues are said to be capable of holding various sports events in the 2019 SEA Games.