Quirino Stadium
17°34′39.1″N 120°23′24″E / 17.577528°N 120.39000°E / 17.577528; 120.39000
The President Elpidio Quirino Stadium, simply known as the Quirino Stadium is a sports facility in the town of Bantay, Ilocos Sur, Philippines.
History
The Quirino Stadium was inaugurated in 1953 by then President Elpidio Quirino, the namesake of the sports venue and hosted the 6th Palarong Pambansa, a national multi-sport event for students.[1]
The sports facility underwent an Ilocos Sur government-funded rehabilitation from February 2014[2] to April 2016[3] Firmbuilders, Inc. was involved in the rehabilitation of the sports facility.[4] The Quirino Stadium had a re-inauguration on April 30, 2016.[3] The rehabilitation was done as part of Ilocos Sur's unsuccessful bid to host the 2017 edition of the Palarong Pambansa[5] though the facility later became part of the province's successful bid for the 2018 edition of the games.[6]
A historical marker at the stadium was unveiled on February 2, 2018 to commemorate the bicentennial foundation anniversary of the province of Ilocos Sur.[7]
Facilities
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cf/Quirino_Stadium_Track_Oval_and_Football_Field.jpg/220px-Quirino_Stadium_Track_Oval_and_Football_Field.jpg)
Prior to the Quirino Stadium's rehabilitation which completed in April 2016, the sports facility used to be unadorned.[3] The stadium's blue rubberized athletics track, basketball and lawn tennis courts, as well as its artificial grass football pitch were installed as part of the 2016 renovations.[3][8] The stadium has a seating capacity of 5,000[9] but it can hold as much as 7,000 people.[10]
A beach volleyball court is being installed inside the stadium. A covered court for indoor sports, a swimming pool and billeting quarters were also planned to be built in a later date.[6]
Events
Athletics
The Quirino Stadium has also hosted the Region 1 Athletic Association meet, an athletics tournament for sportspeople from the Ilocos Region. It hosted the regional tournament in 2017.[3]
Multi-sport
The Palarong Pambansa, a national students' games, has been hosted at the Quirino Stadium when the venue was inaugurated in 1953.[1] The stadium will host events of the 2018 edition of the games.[6][11] The 2017 edition of the Batang Pinoy tournament has also been hosted in the stadium.[12]
Football
The Quirino Stadium hosted the first international match of the Philippine national football team in Northern Luzon against Australian club Perth Glory FC.[13] [14] The match was attended by 6,000 people[15] on June 26, 2016 ended in a 0–2 defeat for the Philippine national side.[16]Ilocos United F.C. used the stadium as their home venue during the inaugural season of the Philippines Football League in 2017.[9]
References
- ^ a b "Ilocos vows to snag Palarong Pambansa hosting". Sun Star Baguio. 6 August 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
- ^ "BANTAY - Photos of Grounbreaking Ceremony for Quirino Stadium Rehabilitation". Ilocos Daily. 4 February 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
- ^ a b c d e "IS to Host Next R1AA, New Stadium Inaugurated". Department of Education (Philippines). 3 May 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
- ^ "About". Firmbuilders, Inc. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
- ^ Pacris, Ben P. (13 May 2015). "Quirino Stadium sa Ilocos Sur, gagawing modernong sports arena" [Quirino Stadium in Ilocos Sur to be made into a modern sports arena] (in Filipino). Amianan Balita Ngayon. Philippine Information Agency. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
- ^ a b c "Bantay to bid for Palaro with state-of-art facility". The Philippine Star. 7 May 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
- ^ Adriano, Leilanie (4 February 2018). "Ilocandia's bicentennial monument unveiled in Ilocos Sur". Northbound Philippines. Philippine News Agency. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
- ^ Landingin, JJ (30 April 2016). "New turf". Amianan Balita Ngayon. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
- ^ a b Doble, Henry (1 April 2017). "8 teams for PFL inaugural kickoff". Sun Star Bacolod. Archived from the original on 19 October 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
- ^ Fenix, Ryan (20 April 2017). "Can top-flight PHL football thrive up north? Ilocos United FC is here to find out". Retrieved 20 April 2017.
- ^ Ulanday, John Bryan (21 March 2018). "Vigan ready for Palaro hosting". Daily Tribune (in English and Filipino). Retrieved 23 March 2018.
- ^ "Batang Pinoy kicks off in Vigan". Manila Standard. 21 October 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
- ^ Realgo, Bryan (22 June 2016). "Azkals set to face Australia's Perth Glory in Ilocos". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
- ^ Lazaro, Freddie. "Quirino Stadium hosts game between PH, Aus". Tempo. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
- ^ Tupas, Cedelf. "Perth Glory booters hold down Azkals". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
- ^ "Glory wraps up Philippines trip with 2-0 win". Perth Glory F.C. Website. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
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