Marikina Sports Center

History

Prior to its current sports facilities, the area is a site of PNR Mariquina Station back in the early 1900s. The Rodriguez Sports Center was built in 1969 under the Rizal Governor Isidro Rodriguez Sr. on a 3 ha land owned by Marikina, then a municipality of Rizal. It is turned over to the Marikina municipal government under Mayor Bayani Fernando in 1995 and was renovated in 2001 under Mayor Maria Lourdes Carlos-Fernando. and was renamed the Marikina Sports Park.

Following the designation of the facility as the home ground of Philippines Football League sides, JPV Marikina F.C. in 2017, the facility's football pitch underwent renovations to meet league standards.

Facilities

The Main Stadium, the football and athletics stadium of the Marikina Sports Center, consists of an athletics track, a 64 m wide natural grass pitch, and two grandstands; the West and East Stands. The grandstands have a total seating capacity of 15,000 people. Between the West Stand and the athletics track are basketball and tennis courts. The West Stand is situated along Shoe Avenue. Prior to hosting its first Philippines Football League match, the football pitch hosted a bicycle track.

It also hosts an Olympic-size swimming pool inside an aquatics center which can accommodate 2,000 spectators, a sports building, and an indoor gymnasium with 7,000 seats.

The MSC hosts facilities for football, tennis, basketball, swimming, and martial arts. Its athletics tracks is open to the public in most nights for a small fee which is used for maintenance expenses of the sports center.

Events

The area has been host to several sports competitions, including the 3rd ISF Men's World Championship 1972, the 1st Asian Athletics Championships 1973, and the 2014 ASEAN School Games which serves as the main venue. It also serves as the venue for women's football at the 2005 Southeast Asian Games and the venue of 2023 Palarong Pambansa, prior to that, it was supposed to be the main venue of 2020 Palarong Pambansa but canceled due to coronavirus pandemic. The venue also hosted several entertainment shows such as grand concerts, finals night, religious events and live television shows.

Aside from hosting events, Marikina Sports Center also hosts sports clinics for the residents of Marikina during the summer season yearly, dubbed the "Summer Sports Camp".

The main stadium of the facility has hosted Philippines Football League matches as the designated home venue of JPV Marikina F.C. since 2018. The facility has been named the home venue of the JPV Marikina since the inaugural 2017 PFL season though the club didn't play a single home game in the venue due to renovation works.

References

2019–2020 (secondary)

References

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2. "Marikina Sports Park".
3. "Ichikawa WHO Award 2004 Marikina".
4. (March 2, 2018). "NPA No More: JPV excited to play in Marikina at last to open the new PFL season". Dugout Philippines.
5. (March 7, 2018). "Can Marikina become a football mecca?". Rappler.
6. (July 3, 2016). "The Philippines Olympic marathon". News Universal Limited.
7. (April 24, 2017). "Beat the summer heat (kahit kapos sa budget)". Philippine Daily Inquirer.
8. (January 23, 1992). "Softball Loop lures 18 nations". Manila Standard.
9. "History of Track and Field in the Philippines". Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association.
10. (November 28, 2014). "Marikina ready to host ASEAN Schools Games". Rappler.
11. (March 12, 2016). "Marikina Sports Summer Camp". [[Inquirer Bandera]].
12. (March 3, 2018). "JPV Marikina stuns Global Cebu to kick off PFL season on winning note". Sports Interactive Network Philippines.