THE dream of every athlete to train in a state-of-the-art national training center is soon to be realized.
This developed as House Committee on Youth and Sports chairman Rep. Conrad Estrella and Subcommittee on Sports chairman Party-list Rep. Mikee Romero approved the establishment of national sports complex in Pampanga with the aim of promoting and developing elite sports in the country.
If the bill—known as the “National Sports Training Center, Act”—will be passed into law by the Senate and House of Representatives, the sports complex will rise at the vast Clark Green City located within the Clark Special Economic Zone in Pampanga.
“The training centers and dormitories of our athletes as well as the offices of the Philippine Sports Commission will be built inside the 50-hectare complex,” said Romero. “It’s going to be a dream come true for our national athletes.”
To achieve excellence in the international sports competitions, both Estrella and Romero said Filipino athletes should train not only in well-equipped facilities, but also in more conducive atmosphere.
They said all sports facilities and other amenities should be at par with international standards and shall be constructed within a period of 18 months after a six-month period of planning.
Aside from being the official training venue and home of national athletes, the sports complex shall also be the center for sports science and research development, and venue for the training of coaches and referees.
The ownership of the training center, including its sports facilities and amenities is vested on the PSC leadership, with its chairman becoming the chairperson of the Board and the Secretary of the Department of Public Works and Highways as co-chairperson.
Other members of the Board are the president of the Philippine Olympic Committee, chairpersons of the Senate Committee on Sports and the House Committee on Youth and Sports, Secretary of the Department of Budget and Management and president of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority and head of the Clark Development Corporation.
The PSC chairman has the sole authority to name an Executive Director, who in turn will direct and supervise the day-to-day operation of the training center.
