The Mall of Asia (MoA) Arena is finally open and now geared to own the title as the country’s newest world-class venue for local and international events.

“We started construction in 2010 and are happy that we are opening as originally targeted,“ says Edgar Tejerero, senior vice president of West Avenue Theatres Corp.

MoA Arena spans a total land area of 18,214.18sqm and a gross building area of 64,085sqm. It has 20,000 full-seating capacity and more than 2,000 parking spaces located on the south side of the mall, with an additional 1,400 slots at the neighboring MoA Annex Car Park Building. It has exceptional aesthetics particularly its glass exterior and eye-catching eye-shaped façade. The eye-shaped façade of the Mall of Asia Arena is a metaphoric representation of “to see“ and “to be seen.“ With this eyeshaped façade, the MoA Arena promises that every sporting or entertainment event to be held in its premises will be a “feast for the eyes.“ Arquitectonica, a Miami-based architecture and interior design firm is the design architect of the MoA Arena.

MoA Arena also boasts of cuttingedge facilities that can be considered the best and the first in the country. For one, MoA Arena is the first events venue in the Philippines to use Robbins, Inc.’s upgraded and newly improved portable floor design and the first to have a Spalding Goal in the country, the NBA Basketball goal standard. Robbins, Inc., with its over 55 years of experience in supplying high performance maple and synthetic sports flooring systems, is the maker of Robbin’s All-Star Plus portable floor system, the system of choice by 16 NBA arenas.

In addition, MoA Arena houses the first ever Corporate Suites in the country and all of Southeast Asia. The Corporate Suite is an exclusive and fully furnished room designed with its own mini-bar, sofas, restroom and private gallery with cinema seats. There are a total of 41 suites, 10 of which can be rented on a per-event basis and the rest are already leased for a period of one to five years.

The MoA Arena also has a live beaming capability to any SM Cinema nationwide, technologically enhanced internal crowd and traffic control, and Wi-Fi accessibility. It is production friendly as the venue allows four hour set-up, basic sounds and lights availability, plug and play set-up, a press room, a world-class dressing room and state-of-the-art dug-out and shower rooms.

For its patrons, MoA Arena promises VIP-level services and amenities, all the comforts of an arena-type venue, and a vast offering of food and merchandise.

It features a designated smoking lounge on all floors, CCTV security system, mobile package counter, PWD access, pick-up center and paging system, to name a few. To ease the patrons’ transportation requirements, the venue also provides shuttle bus service on special show dates, valet parking service, taxi service, and a waiting area and driver’s lounge at the car park. “The Sy family has been involved in this project, especially Sir Hans Sy who was very much into the details of the construction,” adds Tejerero. “MoA Arena is part of a grand master plan for the Mall of Asia Complex.” Currently, the Mall of Asia Complex is home to the world’s fourth largest mall, the SM Mall of Asia. Other landmarks within the Complex are the SMX Convention Center, One E-com Center, San Miguel by the Bay, SM Corporate Offices, 1-Esplanade and the Shrine of Jesus, the Way, The Truth and the Life.

To formally open the Arena, a grand launch concert entitled “Icons at the Mall of Asia Arena“ was held last June 16. The concert featured some of the biggest names in the Philippine music industry, including Lea Salonga, Gary Valenciano, Martin Nievera, Jose Mari Chan, Ogie Alcasid, Regine Velasquez, Basil Valdez, Freddie Aguilar, Christian Bautista, Erik Santos, Juris, Jed Madela, Piolo Pascual, Bamboo, Arnel Pineda, and The CompanY.