MUCH MORE THAN A COLISEUM

Beyond the famed coliseum is a place where fun, retail, entertainment and more meet.

By BG Abellanosa

As the Philippines’ version of the Madison Square Garden, the Araneta Center has been the place where memorable events, big and small, have taken place since the day your parents were born. You might be familiar with some of these such as the “Thrilla in Manila” in 1975

or the World Wrestling Entertainment’s (WWE) Champions Showcase Tour in 2012. Or you might probably have seen one of the UAAP basketball games held here ever so often. Your favorite artists like Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga Bruno Mars and my personal favorite: Vice Ganda have played sold out concerts in Araneta as well.

If you think Araneta is simply the place to go to whenever there are big things happening (i.e. international concerts, basketball games, boxing matches, etc.), oh boy are you missing a lot! Because beyond the Coliseum, Araneta Center is a very cool place to hang out with your friends, spend time with your loved ones and basically do whatever it is you want to do. 

As its name implies, the Araneta Center had its beginnings when Mr. Amado Araneta bought the 35 hectare property in 1952. At the centerpiece of this property is the Araneta Coliseum (aka The Big Dome) which cost about P6 million to build and was, at the time, the largest covered coliseum in the world.

TIME CHANGES

“Nagtitinda na ako sa area’ng to nung nag construction pa sa coliseum,” Manong Gabby, a street vendor, said. “Nagbago na ang panahon.” Time has indeed changed Araneta. Slowly but surely, Araneta Center has grown from just the Coliseum to a place sprawling with malls. “It makes sense from a business perspective if you think about it,” said Ma’am Gloria of the Araneta Group. “The events in Araneta bring a lot of people here. More people means more business opportunities.” In fact, Ma’am Gloria pointed out, Araneta Center brings in about 750,000 visitors every day. 

THE ALI

Ma’am Gloria was also proud to point out that Araneta Center is the location of the country’s very first shopping mall: the Ali Mall. Built in 1976, the Ali Mall was named after the famous boxer, Muhammad Ali. After his win against Joe Frazier in the Thrilla, Ali, in a speech, requested that a shopping center be built near the Big Dome in his honor. 

Don’t let its age fool you, though. The Ali Mall may be the country’s first shopping mall, but its age doesn’t show. It is still one of the major malls in Araneta with over a hundred different stores and restaurants. Want to watch a movie? Ali Mall has a theater place. Looking for a shoe, but can’t seem to decide on what you’re looking for? The Shoe Center has a large collection of shoes you can choose from. Feeling hungry? There are a lot of restaurants to choose from that you’ll never run out of options!

GATE TO THE FUTURE

If indeed you’re looking for something fresh or new, there’s the Gateway Mall. Opened in 2004, the Gateway Mall was developed and is managed by the Araneta Group. Getting to Gateway is relatively easy because it is interconnected with the Coliseum, making it fast and easy to travel between both places. 

Comprised of 5 floors, the Gateway Mall has A LOT of places you can go to. If you’re sick of the urban feel in Araneta, there’s a garden place that houses a lot of restaurants. It has a La-Z-Boy theater (those comfy furniture chairs you can lie on), it also has the country’s largest National Bookstore which should take up a lot of your time if you took the time to explore it. There’s also the newly opened Gateway Tower which adds a lot of mall space to the already large mall.

THE FUTURE

“May mga constructions pa rin dito kahit na matagal nang nandito ang Araneta,” Manong Gabby mentioned, pointing at the construction sites all around the Center. It’s worth mentioning that after more than 50 years since the Big Dome first opened its doors, the Araneta Center is still growing. In fact, it is in the middle of an “extreme transformation”. According to an article from GMA News, the Araneta group will spend at least P30 billion pesos(yes, with a ‘b’) to expand the existing malls, build walkways that connect the buildings to each other and construct hotels so that guests can spend more time to explore Araneta Center- because honestly, who can finish exploring the Center in a day?

There were a lot of places I wish I could’ve explored more- the Aurora Tower and the department store occupying the first few levels, the Farmers Market and Farmers Plaza, too- but alas, the Araneta Center is too big a place for me to finish in a day. The thought of the Araneta Center still growing is both scary and exciting. Scary because a place this big can still get bigger, and exciting because the planned expansions promise to make your experiences in the Center even better. Try going to Araneta with your friends or family and check all the places out. Trust me, it’ll be an adventure.