IMEE: IF YOU BUILD IT, THEY WILL COME AND EXCEL
Ilocos Norte stadium wins third design award

International recognition of one of the country's newest stadiums could boost Filipino interest and excellence in sports that get less attention.

Senator Imee Marcos expressed this belief after the Ferdinand E. Marcos Memorial Stadium in Ilocos Norte won its third award as Gold Winner in the sports architecture category of the 2024 Urban Design and Architectural Design Awards.

Earlier awards also prop up its bid to host the Palarong Pambansa in 2025, including a Special Mention in the Architizer + Awards 2023 and a Highy Commended citation in the World Architecture Festival 2023.

Unlike the closed, oval structures familiar worldwide, the track and football stadium features an open southern end for free-flowing public access to and from Laoag City's Rizal Park and a geometric design inspired by the Ilocos region's loom-woven "abel" wrapping the exterior.

"I am confident another Lydia de Vega or Elma Muros will arise. Until EJ Obiena came along, who ever thought that a Filipino could excel in other track and field sports like the pole vault, long dominated by Westerners?" Marcos pointed out.

"Well-designed sports venues, the right training, and unstinting government support as in the heydays of the Palarong Pambansa and Gintong Alay can bring out the Olympian in every Filipino athlete," the senator reminisced.

Inaugurated in February last year, the stadium was designed by WTA Architecture + Design Studio and was among the "Big 3" projects initiated by the senator when she was Ilocos Norte's governor.

Punning on the famous quote from the film Field of Dreams, Marcos argued: "If you build it, they will come and excel."

IMEE: KUNG ITATAYO MO, DARATING SILA AT MAS LALONG GAGALING
Ilocos Norte stadium wagi ng ikatlong parangal sa disenyo

Ang internasyonal na pagkilala sa isa sa pinakabagong stadium sa bansa ay magpapalakas ng interes at kahusayan ng mga Pilipino sa mga palaro na hindi gaanong nabibigyan ng pansin.

Itong inihayag ni Senador Imee Marcos matapos manalo ng ikatlong parangal ang Ferdinand E. Marcos Memorial Stadium sa Ilocos Norte bilang Gold Winner sa kategorya ng sports architecture ng 2024 Urban Design and Architectural Design Awards.

Ang naunang mga parangal ay nagpapatibay rin sa hangad ng probinsya na maging host ng Palarong Pambansa sa 2025, kabilang ang Special Mention sa Architizer + Awards 2023 at ang pagbanggit na Highly Commended sa World Architecture Festival 2023.

Hindi tulad ng mga saradong oval na pamilyar na istraktura sa buong mundo, ang track at football stadium ay bukas sa dulong timog na bahagi nito para sa malayang pagpasok at paglabas ng publiko mula sa Rizal Park ng Laoag City, at may disenyong mala hinabing tela ng "abel" na gawa sa Ilocos region.

"Naniniwala ako na may isa pang Lydia de Vega o Elma Muros na aangat muli. Hanggang dumating si EJ Obiena, sino ba ang mag-aakala na ang isang Pilipino ay magiging mahusay sa ibang palarong track and field tulad ng pole vault, na kadalasang nadodomina ng mga taga-Kanluran?" ani Marcos.

"Ang maayos na disenyo ng mga pasilidad sa palakasan, tamang pagsasanay, at walang sawang suporta ng gobyerno tulad noong panahon ng Palarong Pambansa at Gintong Alay, ay maaaring magbunga ng pagiging Olimpiko ng mga Pilipinong atleta," ayon sa senador.

Binuksan noong Pebrero ng nakaraang taon, ang paligsahan ay idinisenyo ng WTA Architecture + Design Studio at isa sa "Big 3" na proyekto na sinimulan ng senador noong siya ay gobernador ng Ilocos Norte.

Pagdaragdag sa sikat na linya ng pelikulang Field of Dreams, sinabi ni Marcos: "Kung itatayo mo, darating sila at mas lalong gagaling."