Booming town of Pavia, Iloilo will soon be home to a football field of international standards which will be constructed in honor of Ilonggo soccer legend.
Campo Alcantara, named after Spanish-Filipino legend Paulino Alcantara of Futbol Club (FC) Barcelona, is now under-construction as part of the newest township development along Circumferential Road in Pandac, Pavia.
This new development in the second-class town just outside the city boundary was one of the exciting things revealed in a flamenco-themed event of Uni Asia Properties, Inc., Sta. Lucia Land, Inc. and Ncore Realty & Associates, Inc. held recently at Iloilo Convention Center.
The 1.5-hectare football stadium, which will also be known as Paulino Alcantara Heritage Football/Soccer Stadium, is a unique feature of Mercado Central commercial development at Hacienda Verde township.
Tracing his roots in Pavia, Alcantara took FC Barcelona by storm when he scored three goals in his first ever game over a hundred years ago. He was just 15 years old. He then went on to score 369 goals during his 15-year career with FC Barcelona – the club record for most number of goals scored by any player, which was broken only two years ago.
Seeing that he has Filipino roots, it is envisioned that Alcantara may also serve as an inspiration especially to young football enthusiasts and athletes in the pursuit of their own dreams in the field. It is also expected that Campo Alcantara will help promote and further develop the sport nationwide.
With its size and sheer capacity, Campo Alcantara is set to become the center for football academy and is the ideal venue not only for tournament of the sport itself, but for various big events, major open-air concerts, and other live shows.
The turf used on the field itself is made of a durable material that is of FIFA-standard, which means it will remain consistently lush and immaculate through time.
“The goal is to have Campo Alcantara and host international football tournaments that are sanctioned by the Philippine Football Federation and FIFA,” says Noel Cariño, Chairman of NCORE Realty and Associates, Inc. the exclusive marketing arm for Mercado Central and Hacienda Verde.
“We are also working to develop some sort of sisterhood with FC Barcelona in order to form coordinated events and shared sport culture with them, and perhaps, eventually, earn grants to sponsor some of our deserving local youth who want to professionally play football in the future and are serious enthusiasts of the sport,” Cariño added.
Aside from the football field, Mercado Central which spans 43 hectares of commercial development will feature shopping mall, specialty stores, 10-storey hotel, 7-storey condotel, 4-storey BPO office, theme park, among others. I will be blogging about it in my next posts, so please keep it here.
I’m very grateful to Miss Gail Nuñez-Bangeles (who also hosted the gathering) and Miss Kathy Purr for inviting me to the event, also attended by Iloilo governor Art Defensor, Pavia mayor Mike Gorriceta, top executives of the real estate companies, salespersons and VIPs in Iloilo and neighboring provinces. [With reports from Philippine Star]
