Cebu City Sports Center

The Cebu City Sports Center (CCSC), then known as the Abellana Oval, had a rich history before it attained its present form.

In 1993, the whole country was gearing up for the 1994 Palarong Pambansa (National Games) and the Visayas region would play as host. Among the Philippine cities and municipalities, Cebu City came out on top as the prime choice. Through the efforts of Cebu City Councilor Augustus Young, Congressman Antonio Cuenco, and Congressman Raul del Mar, Cebu won the bidding for the hosting of the event after they justified Cebu's feasibility for hosting the games.

The foremost question on the mind of the organizers at that time was "Where would the games be held?" The answer that hardly required any thinking was Abellana Oval. The next logical question was "Could Abellana Oval handle the number of guest athletes and competitions from all over the archipelago?"

The organizers realized that, in its state at that time, Abellana Oval could not take on the task. So, the Department of Education, Culture, and Sports (DECS, now renamed to DepEd, or Department of Education), together with the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) proposed the renovation of the Abellana Oval and the construction of additional facilities which could accommodate the different events of the upcoming 1994 Palarong Pambansa. Cebu City, being the host city, spearheaded and supervised the construction and was given full funding and support by the national government. Cebu City Councilor Augustus Young was appointed overall director of the project.

Detractors of the project doubted whether the project could be finished on time. Councilor Young, though, was quick to assuage the public's doubts through various media, especially in the local print and broadcast media. The project was finished on time, indeed, true to Councilor Young's promise. (A similar pattern of detraction and doubt with regards to finishing a construction project on time arose recently last year during the building of the Cebu International Convention Center.)

Among the improvements made to the Abellana Oval was the rubberization of the oval itself, consisting of 400 meters of world-standard material and specifications. A stadium that could accommodate 12,000 to 15,000 people was also built. Other facilities built in the complex included a 50-meter by 25-meter swimming pool with ten lanes, a 15-meter by 10-meter warmup pool, a gymnasium, a ballroom, a workout area, and multi-purpose rooms for various indoor sports and games such as chess, karate, and scrabble.

The successful construction of the new sports center, now appropriately renamed to Cebu City Sports Center, gave way to Cebu's hosting of the 1994 Palarong Pambansa—CCSC's first successful hosting of a major event.

CCSC's second chance at a bigger event came in November, 2005, when Cebu City played host to the 2005 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. The sports center was the venue for the opening ceremonies, as well as for seven game categories. Brandon Velasquez said that the preparation for the 2005 SEA Games was very tedious and took up a lot of the organizers' time. Everything went well, though, and the Cebuanos were hailed once again by the international community as a very hospitable people.

With the new Cebu City Sports Center, Cebuano athletes now have a place where their skills could be for future local, national, and international competitions. In fact, from being tenth or eleventh in the rankings for different events, Cebuano athletes rose to fifth place on the charts. The increase in ranking surely gave the Cebuanos much pride in their athletes. The Cebu City Sports Center would hopefully encourage local athletes to perfect their skills and inspire them to excel in sports.

Besides being a sports facility, the Cebu City Sports Center is also the venue for the culmination of the annual Sinulog mardigras held every third Sunday of January.

The Cebu City Sports Center has made a lot of difference in the sports activities of Cebuanos. Because of its accessible location and its world-class facilities, the sports center has encouraged the development of different kinds of sports, as well as inspired many Cebuanos to engage in fitness and health-improving activities. Many go to the sports center for an early morning jog (or walk), or an early morning dip in the swimming pool. Many others go there to play badminton, or to work out at the gym, or to practice ballroom dancing.