The Big Dome | |
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(2017-08-13).jpg) Araneta Coliseum in 2017 | |
 Interactive map of Araneta Coliseum | |
| Full name | Smart Araneta Coliseum |
|---|---|
| Former names | Araneta Coliseum Cinema, Philippine Coliseum, and Shell Coliseum |
| Location | Araneta City,Cubao,Quezon City,Metro Manila |
| Coordinates | 14°37′14″N121°3′12″E / 14.62056°N 121.05333°E /14.62056; 121.05333 |
| Public transit |   Araneta Center-Cubao3Araneta Center-Cubao 51 53 61 Farmers Plaza 3 LRT 2-Gateway Mall UBE Araneta City Bus Port 1 Cubao |
| Parking | 1,500 parking spaces (Araneta City Parking Garage South)[7] |
| Owner | Progressive Development Corporation |
| Operator | United Promotions, Inc. (Uniprom)[1] |
| Capacity | Basketball: 14,429[2] Concert: 9,679[3] Boxing: 15,895[4] Full house: 16,035[5] to 20,000[6] |
| Record attendance | 25,000–36,000[8] |
| Scoreboard | ADSystems 4-side LED display (Big Cube), OES ISC9000 Controller, and Homeworks Trading timer |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1957 |
| Built | 1958 |
| Opened | March 16, 1960; 65 years ago (1960-03-16) |
| Renovated | 1999 2014 2023 |
| Construction cost | ₱6 million (1958) |
| Architect | Dominador Lacson Lugtu |
| Tenants | |
| Philippines men's national basketball team NCAA (1960–present) UAAP (1960–present) PBA (1975–1984, 1995–present) | |
| Website | |
| https://smartaranetacoliseum.com/ | |
TheAraneta Coliseum, also currently known bynaming rights sponsorship asSmart Araneta Coliseum, is an indoor multi-purposesports arena that is part of theAraneta City in theCubao area ofQuezon City, Philippines. Nicknamed "the Big Dome", it is one of the largest indoor arenas in Asia, and one of the largestclear span domes in the world. The dome measures approximately 108.0 meters (354.3 ft) making it the largest dome in Asia from its opening in 1960 until 2001 when it was surpassed by theŌita Stadium in Japan with a dome measuring 274.0 meters (899.0 ft).
The Smart Araneta Coliseum is mostly used for indoor sports such as basketball. It is a main venue of thePhilippine Basketball Association (PBA).[9] The Big Dome is also used for other sports and events such asboxing,cockfighting, local and international concerts,circuses, religious gatherings, and beauty pageants.[10]
In 1952,J. Amado Araneta, a member of theAraneta family, purchased fromRadio Corporation of America (RCA) 35 hectares (86 acres) of land in Cubao which includes theAraneta family home and is bounded byEpifanio Delos Santos Avenue or EDSA, Aurora Boulevard, P. Tuazon and 15th Avenue. During this time, Araneta envisioned a multi-events venue inspired by theMadison Square Garden inNew York City and the RomanColosseum inRome,Italy, which drew criticisms from his business advisers and even Amado's personal friends.[11] This vision led to the development of business and lifestyle buildings surrounding the coliseum, which ultimately gave rise to the Araneta Center, now renamed as theAraneta City.[12][13]
The Araneta Coliseum was constructed from 1957 to late 1959 and designed and built by architect Dominador Lacson Lugtu and engineer Leonardo Onjunco Lugtu. From 1960 to 1963, the Coliseum was recognized as the largest covered coliseum in the world.[14] Today, it remains one of the largestclear span domes in the world with a dome diameter of 108 meters.[15][16]
The coliseum opened on March 16, 1960, withGabriel "Flash" Elorde boxing for the World Junior Lightweight crown againstHarold Gomes. General admission then was₱0.80 (equivalent to ₱94.85 in 2021), and the reserve section was₱5 (equivalent to ₱592.81 in 2021).[8] The total demand for people who wished to enter the coliseum to watch the boxing match live breached its capacity, wherein the total capacity of the coliseum was only 36,000 people, while the total number of people who came to the coliseum totaled to around 50,000 people.[8] The coliseum also featured a swimming pool and agazebo during its opening, located to the current site of the Araneta City Parking Garage South and theNovotel Manila Araneta City. However, the featured facilities closed down a few years later.[17]
On the evening of November 16, 1963, a few days after thenationwide elections, defeatedQuezonprovincial governor Claro Robles attempted to shoot his campaign manager Eladio Caliwara, congressman ofQuezon's 2nd district, at the arena, reportedly due to Caliwara calling him a "turncoat". The two had been at the venue to watch the bout between Elorde andLove Allotey.[18]
Among the notable events to take place at the arena were the11th and34thFAMAS Awards, the 1975 "Thrilla in Manila" boxing match betweenMuhammad Ali andJoe Frazier, in which the arena was renamed into the "Philippine Coliseum", and the annualBinibining Pilipinas beauty pageant. During the Thrilla in Manila, all of the 36,000 seats to watch the event live were sold out.[19] Aside from boxing matches, thePhilippine Basketball Association (PBA) has played most of their games at the Araneta Coliseum since its creation in 1975.[20] Other basketball events hosted by the arena were the1978 FIBA World Championship, a game between the1978 NBA championsWashington Bullets and a PBA selection in 1979, and the 1982 Asian Youth Basketball Championship where the Philippines defeated China in the final.[21]
In the third quarter of 1998, the Aranetas and Pilipinas Shell (local arm ofRoyal Dutch Shell) started negotiations for anaming rights deal that would have lasted until 2008. The Aranetas, who wanted to retain their name at the arena rejected the proposed name "Shell Coliseum at the Araneta Center". Instead, the parties agreed on a contract where Shell's name and logo will be painted at the arena's basketball court, a move that was almost shelved due to objections from other PBA teams because Shell owned the then-PBA team, theShell Turbo Chargers.[22]
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In 1999, the Araneta Group initially planned to demolish the coliseum due to high amusement taxes and rising costs, which gave the company little revenue despite being subsidized by the company since its opening in 1960. The planned demolition was one of the proposals to the company in order to save funds for other business ventures. The plan was eventually scrapped in favor of the coliseum's renovation project, due to the coliseum's historical significance and for being a landmark in both the metropolis and the country. The company later hired Denzel Skinner to spearhead the renovation works, and drew inspiration from the renovation works made in some US indoor arenas.[23] The coliseum underwent its first major renovation at the cost of ₱200 million.[24] The major changes include the renovation of the lower box area, replacement of seats for the patron and lower box sections, and installation of a four-sided center-hung scoreboard. The section names were also given numerical designations: 100 for Patron section, 200 for Lower Box, 300 for Upper Box A, and 400 for Upper Box B. In 2006, an LED display was added to the scoreboard.
From 2001 to 2008, the highest-grossing event at the arena is thePacquiao vs. Larios boxing fight betweenManny Pacquiao andÓscar Larios, earning ₱96.2 million. A concert byWestlife was attended by 17,887 people and earned ₱18.5 million, while aCliff Richard concert earned ₱17.2 million despite being watched by 5,647 spectators.[21]
Prior to theUltimate All-Star Weekend in July 2011, it was announced that the Aranetas entered into anaming rights deal withmobile network operatorSmart Communications, Inc. (a subsidiary ofPhilippine Long Distance Telephone Company), renaming the arena into "Smart Araneta Coliseum". The 5-year naming rights deal includes improvements and renovations to the arena such as the installation of curved escalators to improve access in the upper box and general admission areas, which was subsequently cancelled due to undisclosed reasons, and the construction of a parking lot that can accommodate up to 2,000 cars. The overall renovation project of the coliseum costed ₱1 billion.[22]
Additional improvements for the renovation of the coliseum were made in 2012, including the renovation of the Red Gate entrance and the Green Gate side facade, landscaped surroundings, and the replacement of Upper Box level seats, thus increasing itsseating capacity.[25] The Lower Box and Patron sections were combined to make a new Patron section (100 and 200 level seats). A pathway between the former Patron and Lower Box sections was also made. The former Upper Box A section (300 level seats) was renamed as Box section and the former Upper Box B section (400 level seats) is now referred to as the "Upper Box" section. The renovation project of the coliseum was completed in June 2014.
On January 7, 2015, the Hydra-Rib basketball backboards first used in 1995 were replaced with Spalding ones. The backboards were first used in Game 1 of the2014–15 PBA Philippine Cup Finals. On June 9, 2017, the OES SHOTS-14G7 shot clocks were replaced. The newer clocks were first used in Game 3 of the2017 PBA Commissioner's Cup Quarterfinals match between theTNT Katropa andMeralco Bolts.
Ahead of the2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, the Araneta Coliseum underwent another renovation, and included the replacement of the previous "Big Cube" LED video board with a slightly larger and modernized LED video board, as well as the refurbishment of seating areas and renovation of team dugouts. New entrances were opened on the upper box, lower box and general admission levels, with direct connections to the ground level and the upper ground A level of theGateway Mall 2, which is also connected to the mall's "Coliseum Plaza" area, a food alley area located along the Red Gate entrance.[26][27][28]
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The Araneta Coliseum is anindoor arena designed by Dominador Lacson Lugtu. The sports venue has a large span dome with a diameter of 108 meters (354 ft) as its roof.[14] The dome is 37 meters (121 ft) high at its highest point.[29] The structure is supported by 48 concrete columns and 48 metal ribs.[30] It has a floor area of 2,300 square meters (25,000 sq ft).[14]
Richard de Leon of Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific did the steel framework of the venue – 4,965 aluminum sheets of gauge measuring 7.3 by 1.2 by 2.4 metres (24 ft × 4 ft × 8 ft) was devised.Steam-treated wood from a variety of Philippinehardwood such as apitong,tanguile andnarra fitted usingtongue and groove was also used as support.[30]
Araneta Coliseum, along withSM Mall of Asia Arena, is the primary venue of thePhilippine Basketball Association (PBA) and theUniversity Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) basketball.
It annually hosts everyPBA basketball championship andNCAA basketball championship, as well as the regular season and off-season opening games and championships ofUAAP Basketball,UNTV Cup, andMaharlika Pilipinas Basketball League.
TheSEABA U16 Championship on May 14 to 18, 2017 and2017 SEABA Championship on May 15 to 21, 2017 were held in the arena, where the Philippines won their 4thSEABA U-16 and 8thSEABA title.
The first FIBA Basketball World Cup (previously called FIBA World Championship) held in Asia was the1978 FIBA World Championship in the Philippines from October 1 to 14, 1978. The arena was one of the two venues, alongsideRizal Memorial Coliseum, and was the venue for the final round.
It was also one of the venues for the2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, which was co-hosted by the Philippines from August 25 to September 10, 2023. The tournament's final draw was held at the Coliseum on April 29, 2023.[31] The arena hosted the first and 17th–32nd classification rounds. Except for theopening game, which was held at thePhilippine Arena, the Coliseum hosted all of thePhilippine national team's games during the 2023 World Cup.
The arena has hosted qualifying events for theFIBA Basketball World Cups. It hosted some matches for the first round of the2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification for theFIBA Asia-Oceania in February 2022.
The arena, which was temporarily renamed to "Philippine Coliseum" for the event, was the venue of theThrilla in Manila, the 1975 World Heavyweight Championship boxing match betweenMuhammad Ali andJoe Frazier. It was the third and final match of the three-bout rivalry between the two boxers and was held on October 1, 1975.
Ali won by corner retirement (RTD) after Frazier's chief second asked the referee to stop the fight after the 14th round. The bout is universally regarded as one of the best and most brutal fights in boxing history. It was reportedly watched by a total of 1 billion viewers, and by 50,000 people inside the arena, breaching the venue's total design capacity of 36,000 people.
Araneta Coliseum regularly hosts the UAAPVolleyball championships. It is one of the four primary venue for thePremier Volleyball League along withFiloil EcoOil Centre,PhilSports Arena, andMall of Asia Arena.
Quezon City was one of the host cities for the2022 FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League preliminary round, with the arena hosting the pool 4 matches of the tournament from June 14 to 19, and the2022 FIVB Volleyball Men's Nations League preliminary round pool 3 matches from June 21 to 26.
The coliseum also hosts other type of events including concerts, graduation ceremonies, seminars,ice shows, circuses, and beauty pageants.
From 1990 until 2016, the coliseum hostedDisney on Ice productions during the holiday season; since 2016, theMall of Asia Arena inPasay began hosting these productions.[32]
During its early years in the 1960s, international acts who have performed at the coliseum includedHoliday on Ice,Harlem Globetrotters,Nat King Cole,Johnny Mathis,Neil Sedaka,Jo Ann Campbell,Ricky Nelson,Paul Anka,The Ventures,The Everly Brothers,The Dave Clark Five, andThe Zombies.
Some notable international performers includeAir Supply in 2008,Akon on July 4, 2009,[33]Kelly Clarkson as part of herAll I Ever Wanted World Tour on May 1, 2010,[34]Incubus in 2008 and 2011,Carly Rae Jepsen in 2013 and 2015,[35]Lady Gaga as part of herThe Fame Ball Tour on August 11, 2009,Avril Lavigne as part of herThe Best Damn Tour on September 3, 2008,[36]The Black Star Tour on February 16, 2012[37] and theAvril Lavigne On Tour on February 17, 2014,Kylie Minogue as part of herAphrodite: Les Folies Tour on July 5, 2011,Bruno Mars as part of hisThe Doo-Wops & Hooligans Tour on April 8, 2011,The Script (in 2011 and 2013),Snow Patrol (on August 9, 2012),Taylor Swift as part of herSpeak Now Tour on February 19, 2011,[38] andWestlife in 2001, 2006, 2011, 2019, and 2023.[39] as well as theAmerican Idols LIVE! Tour 2011 (on September 21 and 22, 2011),[40] and theAmerican Idols LIVE! Tour 2012 (on September 21, 2012).[41] Following her performance with the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2012 five months prior, Filipino-AmericanAmerican Idol runner-upJessica Sanchez had her first sold-out solo concert at the coliseum on February 14, 2013.[42] American singer-songwriterLauv performed at the coliseum as part of his How I'm Feeling tour on May 20, 2019. Additionally, Lauv also premiered his new single, "Sad Forever", and filmed its music video during the concert.
The coliseum also housedK-pop artists likeSuper Junior'sSuper Show—the first Korean to perform in the arena,2NE1,SS501,CNBLUE,Beast andEXO.[43][44]K-pop groupU-KISS also had their concert at the big dome and later released into a concert DVD dubbed asU-KISS 1st Kiss Tour in Manila DVD.[45] It was the first time that an international artist released a concert DVD featuring the coliseum.GOT7's first fan meeting in Manila was also held in the Coliseum on November 14, 2015.
On April 14, 2018,Sarah Geronimo held her 15th showbiz anniversary concert called "This Is Me" stylized as "This 15 Me" at the Araneta Coliseum. The sold-out concert was reported as the highest-grossing concert at the coliseum until the girl groupBINI surpassed the record in 2024.[citation needed]
At the turn of the new millennium,Regine Velasquez held her iconic two-night sold-out concert entitledR2K: The Concert, in support of her albumR2K, on April 7 and 8, 2000. R2K The Concert became the most attended concert at the coliseum with over 37,000 attendees, was center staged and has used theseating capacity to its 360-degree maximum.
Filipina female supergroup DIVAS, which is composed ofKyla,Yeng Constantino,KZ Tandingan andAngeline Quinto staged two concerts at the Araneta: their first concert titled DIVAS Live in Manila, and another one in 2018 withBoyz II Men titled Boyz II Men with DIVAS.
To date, theTNT BOYS are the youngest performers to stage a concert in the Coliseum between the ages of 12 and 14 with their Listen: The Big Shot Concert held on November 30, 2018.
P-pop girl groupBINI held a 3-day concert at the venue on November 16, 18, & 19, 2024 – with day 2 being rescheduled to November 19 from its original November 17 date due toSuper Typhoon Pepito. They became the first Filipino OPM P-Pop group performers to hold a 3-day sold-out concert, which had them awarded the Araneta Coliseum Golden Dome Award by theAraneta family.
Later on September 20 and 21, 2025, American rapper and producerTyler, the Creator is holding his last two days of hisChromakopia: The World Tour in the Coliseum, bringing American hip-hop duoParis Texas for an opening act.[46]
The arena has been the venue of theBinibining Pilipinas pageants annually since its inception in 1964.Mister World 2019 was also held on August 23, 2019, at the arena, the first time the Philippines hosted the pageant.
The Big Dome also hosted a praise and worship concerts likeIsrael Houghton,Parachute Band,Don Moen,Bethel Music,Hillsong Worship,Sonicflood,Planetshakers,Planetboom,Hillsong Young & Free andHillsong UNITED.Starting 2017, The AnnualPlanetshakers Conference is being held at the coliseum.[59]
The Big Dome is also the venue of religious gatherings like the anniversary celebration ofAng Dating Daan (English:The Old Path, the flagship program of theMembers Church of God International),Christ's Commission Fellowship,Iglesia ni Cristo, International Convention of Pentecostal Missionary Church of Christ (4th Watch),The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Philippines,Jesus Is Lord Church Worldwide,Jesus Miracle Crusade,Kingdom of Jesus Christ: The Name Above Every Name (during early years), Shalom CCFI (Every Holy Week), the Special Assembly ofJehovah's Witnesses andVictory Christian Fellowship.[60]
During its opening on March 16, 1960, the boxing match betweenGabriel "Flash" Elorde andHarold Gomes garnered a full capacity of 36,000 people who viewed the match live, yet the total number of people who visited the coliseum and wanted to purchase tickets totaled to around 50,000 people. The same scenario occurred on October 1, 1975, when theThrilla in Manila took place. The Coliseum was filled with more than 36,000 people despite the hot and humid temperatures.[8][19]
In between the renovations done in 1999 and 2014, theseventh game of the2013–14 PBA Philippine Cup semifinals betweenBarangay Ginebra San Miguel andSan Mig Super Coffee Mixers on February 12, 2014, set the record of 24,883.[69] Later that year and after renovations, the third game of theUAAP Season 77 men's basketball tournament finals between theFEU Tamaraws andNU Bulldogs on October 15, 2014, pushed the basketball attendance record above the 25,000 mark for the first time for any local sporting event in the Philippines, with 25,138 spectators.[70]
The current all-time record attendance for any non-boxing Philippine entertainment event, sports or non-sports, held at the Araneta Coliseum was set during the final game of theUAAP Season 87 men's basketball tournament finals between theUP Fighting Maroons and theDe La Salle Green Archers, which was watched live by 25,248 people on December 15, 2024.[71]
| Type | Event | Attendance | Date | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basketball | UAAP Season 87 men's basketball finals: UP Fighting Maroons vsDe La Salle Green Archers | 25,248 | December 15, 2024 | [71] |
| Boxing (and overall) | Gabriel "Flash" Elorde vsHarold Gomes Thrilla in Manila:Muhammad Ali vsJoe Frazier | 36,000 (est.) | March 16, 1960 October 1, 1975 | [8][19] |
| Volleyball | 2023 PVL Second All-Filipino Conference finals: Creamline Cool Smashers vsChoco Mucho Flying Titans | 24,459 | December 16, 2023 |
The shooting occurred shortly after one of the bonus fights at the time when fight fans were beginning to fill the Coliseum to seeFlash Elorde in his sixth defense...
| Events | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | FIBA World Championship Final Venue 1978 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Host of thePBA All-Star Game 2001,2003 2009 2016 | Succeeded by |
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