The Sports Development Division under the office of the City Mayor announced on Wednesday that the construction of the UP (University of the Philippines)-Mindanao sports complex is now about 80-percent completed.
Michael Denton Aportadera, officer-in-charge of the Sports Development Division, said the Sports Complex in UP-Min will be ready for soft opening next year during the 2019 Davao Regional Athletic Association (Davaraa) Meet.
Aportadera said the multi-purpose gyms and track oval are on the finishing touches, while the aquatics center is currently on its last phase and is expected to be completed before the year ends.
“Those are the two things that we made sure we have to finish before the events (referring to Palarong Pambansa 2019 and Davraa 2019),” Aportadera said.
The 20-hectare Davao City Sports Complex was undertaken by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) which started horizontal and vertical development last May 2015.
“The UP-Min sports complex is also positioned as the venue for the 2019 South East Asian Games (SEA Games) that will be held in Davao City,” he said.
He added that the Davao del Norte Sports and Tourism Complex in Tagum City and SM Lanang in Davao City are among the possible venues for the event.
According to Aportadera, the sports complex was initially a P300-million project jointly undertaken by UP Mindanao and and the local government unit (LGU) with the effort of former 3rd District Congressman Isidro T. Ungab who helped source funds for the project.
The Philippine Sports Commission headed by William “Butch” Ramirez also contributed a huge amount to the project in partial compliance to a request by Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, it was learned.
