ROXAS CITY – As part of efforts to “bring back the old glory” of the historic Villareal Stadium, the provincial government is asking the public not to vandalize the sports facility.
Carmen Andrade, Sports and Business Affairs Consultant of the provincial government, said she had the comfort room closed after discovering graffiti inside, on top of damaged door knobs.
“In the meantime that we can’t discipline them to use the CR properly, we would close the CR every time they vandalize it,” Andrade said.
Andrade added that she told Provincial General Services Officer Eduardo Apaap to prevent trespassing by installing barbed wires around the facility, installation of warning signs, and deployment of security guards armed with pepper sprays against trespassers.
“No vandalism suspects were found. Vandalism is a criminal offense. There should be more security guards and work shifts for them. The contracts security guards are being checked because of the 24-hour work shifts they have,” she added.
REHAB WORK
The renovation of the Capiz Gymnasium is nearly done.
There are plans to fix the Olympic sized pool and rubberized track oval while stalls outside the stadium were repaired and are now ready for occupancy.
Andrade said the provincial government is planning to construct additional drainage system in the stadium to prevent water from stagnating in lower portions of the area during rains.
“Stagnant water prevents the use of facilities such as the track oval, front portion of the Capiz Gym, and football field area,” Andrade said.
She added that she coordinated with the Provincial General Services Office on the drainage system plan.
HISTORY
Villareal Stadium was constructed in 1962, according to local history writer Ramon Atinon.
It is one of the biggest sports complexes in Western Visayas. The first event held there after the construction was the Bureau of Public Schools Interscholastic Athletic Meet (now known as Palarong Pambansa) on March 3-9, 1963.
Meanwhile, the Capiz Gymnasium inside the stadium has a basketball court that passed the standards of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) and National Basketball Association (NBA), according to Vicente Eugenio, president of ViCARL Technology System, Inc., the contractor of the court.
There were different PBA games held in the gymnasium before. The first one was between Sta. Lucia Realtors and Shell Turbochargers in 2001.
The stadium was the venue of the first marathon competition in the Philippines, “National Open Track and Field Championship” on April 4-7, 1968.
Sporting events such as basketball, volleyball, badminton, sepak takraw, swimming, football, archery, and boxing can be held in the stadium. It also hosts different cultural events among other things.
Andrade asked the public not to vandalize the stadium because it is “their money that funds the repairs of the facilities.” (Capiz Aksyon News Center/Glaicel Joy Bauson, Ramon Atinon, Froilan Unarce, and RJMijares/TDG)