New Clark City Athletics Stadium shortlisted in World Architecture Festival

The Athletics Stadium at New Clark City in Tarlac has been shortlisted by the World Architecture Festival as among the best completed buildings across the globe.

A centerpiece facility of the 30th Southeast Asian Games in 2019, the facility was nominated for the Sport-Completed Buildings category in the prestigious festival.

"We thank the World Architecture Festival for giving its nod to the New Clark City Athletics Stadium," said Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) President and Chief Executive Officer Vince Dizon in a statement.

"It is another testament to the ingenuity of the stadium’s design and structure. Indeed, this is more proof that Filipinos can also be champions in producing outstanding facilities that are on par with other architectural masterpieces in the world," he added.

He also thanked all the workers who completed the facility in the span of 18 months, as well as their partners in Budji+Royal Architecture+Design.

"Thank you for designing a structure that best showcases the beauty of the Filipino spirit to the rest of the globe," he said.

Royal Pineda, the principal architect and CEO of Budji+Royal, said that sharing the Athletics Stadium's "authentic nature and identity" to an international audience makes him "really very happy and proud."

"That was the objective anyway — to present our variety as modern Filipinos through architecture and design," he said.

The New Clark City Athletics Stadium was the first sports facility in the country to receive a Class 1 certification from international athletics governing body World Athletics.

That means it is capable of hosting big events such as the Olympics and other world championships.

The open-air stadium was used for the track and field events of the 30th SEA Games Games, which include dash, polo vault, and discus throw.

The World Architecture Festival is set to take place at the FIL Exhibition Center in Lisbon, Portugal from December 1 to 3. —JCB, GMA News