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CECILE J. BALTASAR
Entertainment
central
The Mall of Asia Arena is a
visual feast inside and out
The Mall of Asia Arena has over 3,000 parking slots for
guests; (below) each corporate suite has its own viewing
deck, powder room, lounge area with couches and
flatscreen TV, and Wi-Fi; an aerial view of the complex
DRIVE DOWN
to the Mall of Asia complex in
Pasay City and you’ll see, within sight of Manila
Bay, a gigantic unblinking eye. It sits on 64,085
square meters and stares at its guests through a
massive all-glass façade. This is the Mall of Asia
(MOA) Arena, the sparkling new-state-of-the-art
sports and entertainment hub that’s the first of
its kind in South-East Asia.
Conceptualized and designed by globally
renowned experts in architecture, interior design
and planning, MOA Arena’s distinct perspective
is a perfect mix of form and function. Patterned
after the Philips Arena in Atlanta, U.S. (known
as one of the best arenas in the world), the
MOA Arena’s facilities were built and installed
according to NBA standards. There’s the eight-
sided center-hung scoreboard, the LED ribbon
boards running around the arena, court flooring
and automated lighting.
It has a simple objective: “to change the
game and elevate entertainment”. And it looks
like MOA Arena’s off to a running start. Lady
Gaga came over end of May and, for two nights,
baptized MOA Arena’s stage with a performance
that only she knew how to do. A grand launch
concert to celebrate world-class Filipino talent
is set for June.
MOA Arena has 20,000 plush theater seats
and 41 premier suites, each furnished with a
restroom, a mini-bar, comfortable furnishings
and a glass-paneled viewing deck. Suites also
come with their own butler service and can
have catering services from Premiere Café and
Lounge by Raintree Restaurants. The MOA
Arena also has a wide array of food choices.
A food court area named Hawker’s Alley
serves appetizing cuisine peppered with 100
cocktail tables. Other famous food tenants have
adjusted their menus to offer food and drinks
exclusively to MOA Arena.
MOA Arena is part of SM Investment Corp.’s
masterplan to develop the Mall of Asia hub
into the premier business and entertainment
complex of South-East Asia. Plans for Arena
started popping up as early as 2006, and
eventually came alive in a PHP3.6 billion
project. Already, hotels, condominiums and
a casino are in the works. In the midst of it all
is Arena and its glass eye, announcing to the
world that everything you will see inside its
glass walls is a feast for the eyes.
CATCH THE
FOLLOWING
CONCERTS AT
ARENA THIS JUNE:
JUNE 1
Edwin McCain and Taylor Dayne
JUNE 3
The Backstreet Boys and New
Kids on the Block
Log on to
www.smtickets.com
to reserve tickets, or call the
customer hotline: +63 (2)
470 2222.