Bidding for the construction of the P391-million Baguio Youth Convergence and Sports Complex started this month.
City Administrator Bonifacio dela Peña, who oversees the bidding of the project, said three bidders have signified their intention for the project, which was bid out on Aug. 26. The winning bidder will be announced soon.
Dela Peña, who is a soils engineer and former dean of the Saint Louis University-School of Engineering and Architecture, said the bidders are up to the task of meeting the highest quality for the project that will follow international standards.
Prior to the finalization of the five-story building’s design, the city had several consultations with experts to include the Philippine Sports Commission and its consultant, Noel Elnar, the chief architect in the building of the Clark sports complex used during the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.
The PSC helped in revising the city’s design to comply with international standards, which reduced the cost from P450M to P391M.
Dela Peña said the two sports facilities at the Athletic Bowl, the swimming pool, and the oval are short of the international standard; the latter is three meters short. He said this will be corrected with the upcoming upgrade of the sports complex.
The proposed building will have a parking facility at the ground floor capable to accommodate about 60 vehicles and 20 motorcycles.
The upper ground floor will house the convergence center for the Sangguniang Kabataan Federation for its offices, a multipurpose hall, an auditorium, and other required amenities.
The third floor will be a training ground for contact sports athletes and other individual sports, where Baguio athletes have been known to excel in as shown by the medals they bring home from national and international competitions.
The fourth floor will have a six-lane bowling alley and a basketball court will be constructed on the fifth floor. It will be the first basketball court to be put up and managed by the city government for its athletes.
The court will be at least five meters high atop the sports complex. In terms of height, it will be the highest compared to the other floors so that they can install posts that will only “carry the roofing.”
Elevators and escalators will be provided to get to the basketball court, while bleachers will be built, as this will be one of the more frequented facilities within the sports complex. – Ofelia C. Empian
April 18, 2024
