Tracksters to be relocated to PhilSports

MANILA, Philippines - With the Rizal Memorial Stadium about to be converted into the country’s football hub, the Philippine track and field team will be relocated to a new home, the soon-to-be-renovated PhilSports Complex.

“Track and field will have a new home at PhilSports. Our plan is to make the PhilSports a venue dedicated solely to track and field,” said Philippine Sports Commission chairman Richie Garcia.

The PSC is set to sign a memorandum of agreement with the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) on the refurbishing of the Rizal Stadium and exclusive use of the venue for the sport for at least 25 years.

In effect, bets in track and field will have to move their training to the PhilSports, another facility managed by the PSC.

But like Rizal, PhilSports needs repairs.

“We’ll renovate the oval and the field and the PSC has budgeted about P25 million for this,” Garcia said. “Hopefully, everything will be completed before the end of the year.”

Rizal, which has housed athletics for the longest time before reemergence of football, will become the permanent home of the Azkals. The decades-old site will undergo facelift through a $500,000 grant from Fifa’s GOAL program.

“We’ll convert the field into an artificial turf, and remodel the locker rooms,” said Garcia, adding that in the next few years, the bleachers area will be expanded to accommodate 10,000 to 15,000 more spectators.

The track at Rizal will be reduced to six lanes and will only be used for “cross-training,” according to the PSC chief.