Panaad stadium gets facelift for Azkals-Mongolia match

The Panaad Stadium inside the Panaad Park and Sports Complex in Bacolod, is being prepared in time for the February 9 match between the Philippine men's national football team and Mongolia in the AFC Challenge Cup. Panaad Stadium, which will host the Azkals' much-awaited first international match on Philippine soil, is owned by the Negros Occidental Provincial Government under current governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. Two floodlight panels for the night encounter will be held up by cranes, since there is no more time to mount them on permanent structures. Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Ricardo Garcia said the two sets of floodlight panels were transferred from the Paglaum Sports Complex in Bacolod City to the provincial government-owned Panaad Stadium for Wednesday’s game. It will all cost P2 million, according to a report on Visayan Daily Star Saturday. Each panel has 22 floodlights, the report added. Garcia said the P2 million does not cover the permanent structures needed to mount the lights at some future date. He added that it will be up to the Negros Occidental provincial government to do that. Garcia said they are hoping the contractor tasked with transferring the floodlight panels will lower the P2-million fee being charged. He added that Gov. Marañon plans to transfer two more floodlight panels from Paglaum to Panaad. The Negros Occidental Provincial Government also installed air-conditioning units in the dressing rooms with showers, while all comfort rooms were also renovated. Panaad park administrator Ian de Ramos said the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) has allocated P290,000 for all the renovations, as well as the acquisition of carabao grass and two new lawnmowers to improve the grounds at the stadium. The VIP lounge has also been renovated and painted. They have not totally used up the money allocated by the PFF. PSC chairman Garcia said that his agency also advanced funds for the repairs at the stadium, and that he has also asked the Office of the President for an additional P6 million for Wednesday's match, but that the request had not yet been approved. Garcia said he does not know if the amount will come from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) or the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO). – JVP, KY, GMANews.TV