DURING the recent two-night Born This Way Ball tour of Lady Gaga in Manila, the public was not only awed by her show stopping performance, but also by the new SM Mall of Asia Arena.

Located on an 18,214 square-meter site at the SM Mall of Asia Complex, the new 64,085 square-meter, five-storey landmark by the bay is a multi-purpose venue that can accommodate a seating capacity of 15,000 with a full-house capacity of 20,000.

“The Sy family, especially SM Prime Holdings Inc. president Hans T. Sy, was very much involved in the details of the MOA Arena’s construction,” says Edgar Tejerero, Senior Vice President of West Avenue Theaters Corporation, the managing arm of SM Cinema.

Designed for concerts and basketball games by Arquitectonica International Corp., it can also be configured for boxing, theater, fashion, and ice-skating shows.

“The distinctive eye-shaped façade symbolizes the MOA Arena’s promise of delivering top-notch entertainment to its audience,” says Arquitectonica’s David Zaballero, the MOA Arena’s project director.  “It seeks to channel the message that every single event to be held in its premises will surely be a ‘feast for the eye’.”

The SM MOA Arena had the Arquitectonica International Corporation as its design architect and Monolith Construction and Development Corp. as its general contractor.

The Arena’s big-eye design resting on a slanted podium plinth allows it to hold the large volume of the interior court within a dramatic vaulted space, while providing a distinctive identity to the building. An eye-shaped multimedia screen projects images of ongoing or future events.

The eye theme is repeated on the landscaping with eye configured plant boxes and ramps for the handicapped contained within protective walls that form an eye.

The Arena’s interiors are simple and minimalist. Arranged on two tiers, it has a ring of corporate suites separating the tower seats from the balcony levels.

It is the first events venue in the Philippines to use Robbins Inc. portable floor design and the first to have Spalding Goal, the NBA Basketball goal standard, in the country.

To comply with international standards, the Arena has four dug-outs, a mess hall for an event’s technical team, an exclusive room for press conferences, and even a special Meet and Greet area.

The MOA Arena’s Corporate Suites are another first, not only in the country, but also in all of Southeast Asia. There are a total of 41 corporate suites with its own lounge, mini bar, restroom and private gallery with cinema seats. Ten of these suites can be rented on a per event basis, while the rest are leased for a period of one to five years.