Just weeks after the May 2019 election, when Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes won, City Administrator Jamaal James Calipayan they would pursue the stalled Mandaue City Sports Center, nixed under the previous administration.
In October, 2019 I asked for the status of the stadium and Calipayan said they have to go back with the contractor since doing the same project, after three years of inflation, meant some adjustments. You see, it was originally conceptualized in the final years of Cortes first foray as Mandaue City mayor before he took a stint in congress. (Check this 2019 column on the Mandaue City Sports Center)
Unfortunately, we all know what happened in early 2020, when everything had to go to the backburner because of Covid. Two years later, Mayor Cortes finally delivered on his promise to pursue the project as they held the groundbreaking ceremony for 3.6-hectare complex that will rise in Cansaga.
Aside from the football pitch, no size given, it will have an Olympic-sized oval and swimming pool, basketball courts and tennis courts.
This means Metro Cebu, in the near future, will have three major pitches–the Mandaue City Sports Center, Cebu City Sports Center and the Dynamic Herb
Sports Complex. What’s good is that getting from one end to the other–from Dynamic Herb to Mandaue City would be a one-hour drive or 90 minutes for traffic. The Cebu City Sports Center sits between the two.
And if a change in administration in 2016 and the pandemic in 2020 delayed the project by six years, Mayor Cortes’ strong approval rating means there won’t be any changes after the May elections.
This is good news, not only for football fans in Mandaue City, but all over Cebu Province as we now have another venue, not only to hold matches, but to conduct grassroots training.