The vision of J. Amado Araneta of giving the Filipinos something accessible, but out of the ordinary, gave life to the undeveloped lands of Cubao. His goal was not just to establish a shopping, dining, and entertainment complex, but also to build the largest indoor facility in Southeast Asia. In 1952, Araneta bought a 35-hectare land property from the Radio Communication of America (RCA) in Cubao, Quezon City. This is now the Araneta Center. The massive land area is bordered by Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue (EDSA), Aurora Boulevard, P. Tuazon, and 15th Avenue. Other establishments in the Araneta Center include Ali Mall – the first multi-level shopping mall in the Philippines, the New Frontier Cinema – the biggest theatre in the country, and many more. The construction of Araneta Coliseum started in 1957 and was completed two years later. In 1960 to 1963, the edifice achieved its title as the “Biggest-Covered Coliseum in the World”. Even now, the establishment still remains as one of the biggest domes in the world, and the largest indoor facility in the whole Southeast Asia. With its diameter of one hundred and eight (108) meters, the Coliseum covers twenty-three hundred (2300) meters of floor area and has a seating capacity of sixteen thousand five hundred (16 500). Occupying almost four hectares, it earned its title, the Big Dome. More than 33,000 spectators watched the premiere of the Filipino boxer, Gabriel “Flash” Elorde versus the American World Junior Lightweight crown, Harold Gomes in March 16, 1960. This served as the grand opening of the Araneta Coliseum. Back then, viewers were charged 80 centavos for General Admission and 5 pesos for Reserve Section. The management’s commitment of providing Filipinos the best entertainment at the lowest rates made the events in the Arena more open to the public. One of the most remembered performances inside the Big Dome was the “Thrilla in Manila”. It was a World Heavyweight Championship match between Muhammad Ali, and Joe Frazier. Since then, the Araneta Coliseum became one of the top tourist attractions in the Philippines.
Other major events regularly held in the Coliseum include basketball games both by professional and collegiate ranks, the UAAP Cheerdance Competition, and the Bb. Pilipinas Beauty Pageant. Usually the venue is reserved for concerts and live performances of various singers and artists. At times, the Big Dome is also used for cockfighting, wrestling, boxing, religious gatherings, and ice-skating.
The Araneta Group invested 250-million pesos for renovation in July, 1999. A construction of locker, dressing, production, and press rooms was made to give world class performers a world class facility. The major changes made to the coliseum were the reconstruction of the lower box area and the replacement of the seats in the patron and lower box sections. An installation of a four-sided center hung scoreboard was also made. (Araneta Coliseum, 2006)
After 50 years of hosting 6, 000 world-class performances viewed by 35 million viewers without any help from any corporate partners, many were surprised by the renaming of the center piece of the Araneta Center to Smart Araneta Coliseum. This will be effective for the next five years at least. Prior to the Smart Ultimate All-Star Weekend in July 23, 2011, Araneta Group chairman Jorge L. Araneta announced this major advancement.
In exchange of having Smart Communications Incorporated’s name attached to the biggest indoor facility in Southeast Asia, Araneta receives a substantial annual fee from the telecommunications company. Aside from that, the Arena went through many improvements. Brand new chairs complete with cup-holders replaced all of the Coliseum’s 20,000 seats. Elevators were installed and more modern toilet facilities were added to accommodate the large number of spectators that fill the coliseum. “Virtual Boxes” were installed to provide a better VIP experience. Giant LED walls beyond the gates displayed schedules, advertisements, and other video materials. Enhanced fire protection system, and other security features of the Coliseum were also improved. Free Wi-FI access was made available to the concert goers for them to tweet or post a status of their experiences while inside the Arena. (Dumlao, 2011)
Advertising plays a big role in making Smart Araneta Coliseum a successful business. It serves as a great tool in communicating to the public, and luring them into the big dome’s extravagant events.
One method the Araneta group uses to advertise is through television advertising. A large percentage of Filipino households have television sets. These household appliances are capable of bringing the viewers colorful ads, complete with sound and movement. TV ads give people a glimpse of what they will experience in the promoted event. Though proven effective, TV advertising also has its disadvantages. Advertising slots are sold in units of 20 to 60 seconds. Prices vary depending on the time slot where you want your ad to appear. These slots generally cost a lot. The Araneta group also uses radios as mediums for advertising. Promotions of concerts such as Charice’s Philippine Infinity Tour and David Foster’s David Foster & Friends were advertised through radio stations. Radio advertising has a wide range of broadcasting and it’s cheaper than TV ads. However, listeners may find radio ads difficult to remember because it lacks visual features. Along EDSA, giant tarpaulins mounted on massive steel braces help Smart Araneta Coliseum attract concert goers. These gigantic billboards, deliver great messages that bring lots of impact to its readers. They are all over urban places especially on major roads like EDSA, Espana, and Recto. Smaller versions of these ads have scattered along General Aguinaldo and General Roxas Avenue, where the massive arena is standing. Sometimes these posters are attached to jeepneys, buses, and other public utility vehicles. Big or small, billboards usually contain limited information so people can read them easily. The big ones require high maintenance especially during stormy days. Another method of print advertising the Coliseum uses is newspaper and magazine advertising. The Araneta group pays corporations like the Philippine Daily Inquirer Inc. to have the billing of their upcoming concert posted on a page of a newspaper. Magazines like Pulp and Gala are the usual promoters of the Big Dome’s events. Magazine advertisements are more costly than newspaper ads because the paper used for printing is much expensive and the printing quality is better. Magazines don’t usually serve small areas so they also provide a wider range of distribution. The Smart Araneta Coliseum also advertises online. They have a website that is open to everyone with internet access. On the homepage of their website, the schedule of events is posted. It also has a search engine on the upper right side, where people can search if their favorite performers will visit and perform in the Arena. The Big Dome also advertises through social media networking sites. With the use of its Facebook page, the Coliseum can posts all the updates and posters of their upcoming events. The Araneta group interacts with the other users through games, where they can win concert tickets, and more. The Araneta Coliseum also has its own official twitter page. Through the use of these social networking sites, the Araneta group is not just able advertise, but also to interact with people, worldwide. The posts made by the group can be “shared” or “retweeted” by other users making it possible for these messages to become viral. Once labeled as the largest covered coliseum in the world, the legendary Araneta Coliseum, which is now the Smart Araneta Coliseum, is definitely the home of the biggest events that ever happened in our country. This massive piece of our history made lots of contributions, to make our country recognized all over the world.