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European teams eyeing to train in New Clark City for 2020 Olympics


The just-completed sports facilities in New Clark City have quickly made a mark in the global athletics scene, with foreign teams reportedly eyeing the venue as training ground for the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) President and Chief Executive Officer Vivencio Dizon said there's been strong interest from foreign teams to fly to the Philippines and train in the new sports complex in Capas, Tarlac, which is currently the venue for track and field and water sports for the 30th Southeast Asian Games.

"Right now, we have already been getting feelers from countries abroad who want to train in the New Clark City in preparation for Tokyo 2020 because they have to acclimatize, they have to practice in the heat, and they have to get used to the time zone. They're already approaching us," Dizon said in a press briefing on Monday.


Those interested are teams from Central and Eastern Europe, he said. The BCDA chief said there's also buzz to hold the Asian Swimming Championships here.

This, despite some hiccups in the entry of select foreign delegations to Manila. Last week, President Rodrigo Duterte apologized to the foreign teams who had to wait for hours and sleep on the floor as they waited for their shuttle service or for their hotel rooms to be ready before the SEA Games started.

The aquatic center features an eight-lane training pool and a 10-lane Olympic pool for swimming competitions. Unlike commercial facilities, the new pools being built in Clark come with steel and PVC lining, matching the ones used during the London Olympics in 2012. It also comes with the global FINA certification and can cater to dry diving.


Nearby is the open-air athletics stadium that can cater to an audience of 20,000. Across, there's an Athletes' Village that could cater to hundreds of participants, and comes with its own wade pool, basketball court, gym, and cafeteria.

Even without foreign teams coming, Dizon said the facilities are meant for the use of the Philippine national team, as well as for students and employees of the institutions that plan to set up shop there.

He said state schools like the University of the Philippines, the Technological University of the Philippines, the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, the Philippine Science High School, and the proposed Philippine High School for Sports would be based in the new metropolis, alongside satellite offices of national government agencies.


The BCDA said it will pay in full the expenses incurred by Malaysian contractor MTD Capital Berhad to fully acquire the property. After that, the government would eventually tap a private firm to operate and maintain the facilities but would pay a share of the revenues to BCDA.

New Clark City has started to make a name for itself among foreign athletes, with European teams reportedly eyeing the new facilities as training grounds for the 2020 Olympics.

Venues for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics have been completed months ahead of the world competitions, which happen every four years.

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This article first appeared on CNN Philippines.

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