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The Philippine Arena is a multipurpose indoor arena located within the Ciudad de Victoria tourism enterprise zone in the towns of Bocaue and Santa Maria, Bulacan, Philippines. It is located about north of Manila. With a maximum seating capacity of 55,000, it is the world's largest indoor arena, and one of the centerpieces of the many centennial projects built by the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) for their centennial celebration on July 27, 2014. The arena is legally owned by the New Era University, an educational institution of the INC. The arena was officially recognized by the Guinness World Records as the largest mixed-use indoor theater in the world on July 27, 2014.
The seating layout of the arena is different from that of a standard arena where the stage is at the middle and is surrounded by seats. The seating of the arena closely resembles that of a Greek amphitheater, built in a semi-circle with the seats at the sides and front of the arena stage. The seatings are divided into three sections. Each of the sections are colored green, white and red: the colors of the Iglesia ni Cristo flag.
The arena has four floors or levels. Level 1 is the stage level, Level 2 is the main access level open to the general viewing public, Level 3 is the VIP area which also houses conference rooms with views facing the main plaza outside the indoor arena building, and Level 4 is the upper concourse.
Furthermore, contractor Hanwha hired their own architecture firm, Haeanh Architects for the project.
The most attended PBA game of all time was recorded in the arena on January 15, 2023, when Barangay Ginebra San Miguel played Bay Area Dragons in front of a crowd of 54,589 for Game 7 of the 2022–23 PBA Commissioner's Cup Finals. It broke the previous record of 54,086 set back on October 27, 2017, at the same venue during Game 7 of the 2017 Governors' Cup Finals. Game 6 of the same series on October 25 also recorded a crowd of 53,624.
Structure
Built on of land, the arena has a dome over . The oval roof has a dimension of and contains 9,000 tons of steel work. The roof was made as a separate unit to reduce burden on the arena with extra load. The arena is in height, or about fifteen stories high and founded on pile construction. About a third of the dead load of the building was designed for earthquake loads. The building was also divided into multiple structures to strengthen the arena's earthquake resistance.
Landscape
PWP Landscape Architecture, the firm who landscaped the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, designed the landscape for the arena and the whole complex of Ciudad de Victoria. For the arena, a series of plaza, gardens and performance venues form the setting for the development including: The North and South Arrival Plazas, The Promontory Plaza, The Great Stairs, and Ciudad de Victoria Plaza that are all related to each other with two cross axes (N-S and E-W) that intersect at the Promontory Plaza. Two fountains that can shoot waters up to are also installed in front of the arena.
Uses
The arena serves multiple purposes, hosting major church gatherings of the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) and functioning as a versatile sports and concert venue. It accommodates various events, including boxing, basketball, and live music performances, but not association football or field events due to its limited size. For field events, the adjacent Philippine Sports Stadium, also owned by the Iglesia ni Cristo, is used. Every seat in the arena offers a clear line of sight, even with different configurations such as church ceremonies, boxing matches, tennis, concerts, or indoor gymnastics. The INC allows non-Iglesia tenants to use the arena but reserves the right to prohibit activities that violate its religious principles, such as gambling-related events and cockfighting.
Notable events
Basketball
PBA games
On October 19, 2014, the Philippine Arena hosted its first commercial and non-INC event with the opening ceremonies of the 2014–15 PBA Philippine Cup. It was attended by 52,612 people, making it the largest attendance record for an opening ceremony in PBA history. It again hosted the opening ceremonies for 2019 PBA Philippine Cup on January 13, 2019, attended by 23,711.
FIBA 3x3 World Cup
The 2018 FIBA 3x3 World Cup was hosted by the Philippines on June 8–12, 2018 with Philippine Arena as the venue. Serbia won the men's tournament, while the women's tournament was won by Italy. The event was co-organized by FIBA.
FIBA Basketball World Cup
The Philippine Arena was one of five venues for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, which the Philippines hosted from August 25 to September 10, 2023. It served as the venue for the first two games of Group A on August 25, 2023, including the Philippines' opening game against the Dominican Republic, which broke the attendance record for a FIBA Basketball World Cup game with 38,115 spectators. It was originally set to host the final round, but it was moved to the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Metro Manila due to logistical and traffic concerns.
FIBA World Cup Qualification events
Concerts
The Philippine Arena has hosted several concerts by both local and international artists. Notable acts who have performed at the venue include Blackpink, the first musical act to hold multiple nights and sell out two shows at the arena with their Born Pink World Tour; Bruno Mars, the first solo artist to sell out two shows at the arena with his 2022–24 tour; Coldplay, who hold the record for the highest attendance by a musical act at the arena with a combined total of 96,079 attendees during their Music of the Spheres World Tour; BINI, the first local act to headline and sell out a show at the arena with their 2025 world tour; and SB19, the first local act to hold and sell out two consecutive shows at the arena, and the first Filipino act to sell out a concert at the arena in less than seven hours, with their Simula at Wakas World Tour.
Other events
Attendance records
Music concert Coldplay
Music of the Spheres World Tour96,079 (combined) January 19–20, 2024 Basketball Barangay Ginebra vs. Bay Area Dragons
2022–23 PBA Commissioner's Cup Finals Game 754,589 January 15, 2023 Variety show Eat Bulaga!
Tamang Panahon55,000 October 24, 2015
In popular media
See also
External links
Categories: 2014 Establishments In The Philippines, Basketball Venues In The Philippines, Buildings And Structures In Bulacan, Iglesia Ni Cristo, Indoor Arenas In The Philippines, Modernist Architecture In The Philippines, Sports In Bulacan, Sports Venues Completed In 2014, Philippine Basketball Association Venues
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