(18 May 2012. Pasay City, Philippines.) The Mall of Asia Arena (MOA Arena) opens with a big bang on Monday, 21 May 2012, with a two-day concert of five-time Grammy Award winner Lady Gaga, who stops by the Philippines as part of her Born This Way Ball concert tour in various countries in Asia, Oceania, America, and Europe.
The MOA Arena, located at SM’s Mall of Asia Complex in Pasay City, is a six-level, state of the art sports and multi-event complex with a gross floor area of 64,085 square meters. It can comfortably seat 16,000 spectators, with a full-house capacity of up to 20,000 persons. The structure was built at a cost of approximately Php3.6 billion and sits on a 1.6-hectare property owned by SM Land, Inc.
A first in the Philippines, the MOA Arena offers for lease corporate or premier suites. These are exclusive rooms with first-rate amenities that include a bar, flat-screen TV, sofa set with tables, a private restroom, and a reserved parking slot, among others. Patrons of these suites and their guests have a dedicated gallery with a spectacular view of all events held at the MOA Arena. Food and beverage catering may be availed of from in-house or accredited providers. The suites may also be used for private meetings and other company events.
Another unique feature of the MOA Arena is the high-resolution LED (light emitting diode) ribbon board, which is mounted all around the interior façade of its third and fifth levels, and can display a variety of running text, graphics, logos, scores, and updates. The ribbon board will complement the huge, main Daktronics center scoreboard, which is similar to those used by the NBA (National Basketball Association) of the United States. These innovative features will also be enjoyed by the thousands of fans of the UAAP (University Athletic Association of the Philippines) and the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) as most of their basketball games will be held at the MOA Arena.
Other sports-related facilities of the arena include four dugouts, meeting rooms, and spacious shower facilities, among others. Aside from basketball, other sports like boxing, volleyball, futsal and wrestling may also be held at the MOA Arena. It is also an ideal venue for musical and theater productions, fashion shows, circuses, corporate events, and other similar activities.
The MOA Arena also boasts of its capability to beam events held in it on a live basis to any SM cinema in the country. There will also be function rooms for press conferences and Wi-Fi for Internet users. Special access lanes for PWDs (persons with disabilities) and CCTV security systems will also be available. For added convenience, there are escalators in every level.
MOA Arena will be having its grand launch with the OPM Icons as performers on June 16, 2012. Lea Salonga, Arnel Pineda, Martin Nievera, Ogie Alcasid, Regine Velasquez, Jose Mari Chan, The Company, Freddie Aguilar, Basil Valdez plus more. This is consistent with SM’s belief and support to the world class Filipino talent.
Aside from Lady Gaga, other artists scheduled to perform soon at the MOA Arena are the New Kids on the Block, Backstreet Boys, Nikki Minaj and The Fray. The world-renowned Cirque du Soleil is also scheduled to perform at the MOA Arena within the year. The MOA Arena has been booked for events until the first quarter of 2013.
Meanwhile, right in front of the MOA Arena, and directly connected to it via a bridge way, is the newly constructed MOA Arena Annex, a parking building that can accommodate up to 1,400 vehicles. Aside from parking, the annex also features restaurants, sports and snack bars, food carts, and retail and office space. Other wide, open parking spaces are also available for MOA Arena patrons in adjacent areas, together with the existing parking facilities of the Mall of Asia and the SMX Convention Center.
Further details about the MOA Arena are available in their website: http://www.mallofasia-arena.com
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For further information, please contact:
Ms. Corazon P. Guidote
Senior Vice President for Investor Relations
SM Investments Corporation
E-mail: cora.guidote@sminvestments.com
Tel. 857-0117
Date: Friday, May 18, 2012
