The SM Mall of Asia Arena, also known as the Mall of Asia Arena or the MoA Arena, is an indoor arena within the SM Mall of Asia complex, in Bay City, Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines. It has a seating capacity of 15,000 for sporting events, and a full house capacity of 20,000.[5] The Arena officially opened on May 21, 2012. It has retractable seats and a 2,000-capacity car park building. The Arena has a total area of 64,000 m2 (690,000 sq ft).[6]
The construction of the SM Mall of Asia Arena began in 2010,[11] and costed around ₱3.6 billion.[12] The venue is part of the master plan for the SM Mall of Asia complex which in 2012 already had the SMX Convention Center and the One E-com and Two E-com office buildings.[13]
The arena had its topping-off ceremony in September 2011[14] and was opened about two years later after it broke ground. The first public event hosted at the indoor arena was the two-night Born This Way Ball concert of Lady Gaga which began on May 21, 2012.[15] A separate event was held as part of the grand opening ceremony of the indoor arena held on June 16, 2012; the Icons at the Arena: Masters of OPM which featured various local musicians and singers which was organized by Star Events of ABS-CBN, directed by Johnny Manahan with Ryan Cayabyab as the concert's musical director.[16]
Mall of Asia Arena Annex Building (left) standing next to the SM Mall of Asia Arena (right)
The SM Mall of Asia Arena was designed by architecture firm Arquitectonica.[19] The facility was intended primarily as a venue for concerts and basketball games but can be reconfigured to accommodate other sporting and entertainment events as well.[20] It has a seating capacity of 15,000 but can host as much as 20,000 people in a full-house capacity.[12]
The indoor arena stands on a 16,000 m2 (170,000 sq ft) site, and has a floor area of 52,000 m2 (560,000 sq ft). The limited area of the site meant that part of the building to span over the adjacent Pacific Drive. Due to a high water table, the construction of basement parking levels was limited and a separate eight-storey parking building called Mall of Asia Arena Annex (MAAX) which can accommodate 1,400 vehicles had to be built. The façade of the building are covered with low-e coated and fritted insulated glass units.[20]
The structure hosting the events space was designed in a form of an eye which was supported by a slanted podium plinth.[20]
The venue uses NBA-specification shot clocks, with Daktronics BB-2140 and BB-2141 shot clocks (used by the NBA along with models from OES until the 2016–17 NBA season due to the NBA using Tissot ones) that count tenths in the final five seconds, though recently it has been stretched to the final nine seconds.
Facilities
The indoor arena hosts the Premiere Suites which is reportedly the first luxury box in Southeast Asia. The luxury box has a total of 41 suites.[21] A private restaurant, the Premiere Café + Lounge, serves patrons of the luxury box.[22]
The arena had hosted various entertainment events since its opening in 2012, from music concerts of local and international artists, beauty pageant ceremonies, to different functions for the country's biggest entertainment companies.
On February 22, 2015, ABS-CBN's ASAP celebrated their 20th Anniversary celebration at the arena. Months later, on July 26, 2015, GMA Network celebrated its 65th anniversary through a fans' day entitled "Thank You, Kapuso!" at the arena. Since 2016, the arena has also hosted Disney on Ice productions every December, except on years that were restricted due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines.[23]
Music concerts
Lady Gaga held the first concerts at the arena, selling out her two-night Born This Way Ball tour on May 21–22, 2012.[24]Regine Velasquez was the first Filipino artist to stage a solo concert; she is also the only Filipino artist to stage a two-night, sold-out solo concert at the arena and has performed more times than any other artist. Several other international artists have performed at the arena.
In 2015, Darren Espanto became the youngest artist to hold a solo show at the arena at age 14.[25] During its time, Madonna's Rebel Heart Tour concerts on February 24–25, 2016 were the most expensive concerts in the Philippines with ticket costs ranging from ₱3,150 to ₱57,750 per person.[26]One Ok Rock was the first Japanese artist to headline a show in the arena, while EXO was the first Korean artist to stage a two-day sold-out concert series in the arena, followed by other K-pop groups such as Big Bang, Blackpink, 2NE1, Winner, iKON, AKMU, Treasure and Twice.
Celine Dion, who performed at the arena on July 19 and 20, 2018, as part of her Celine Dion Live 2018 tour, is the venue's highest-grossing female artist with nearly $4,000,000 between the two shows.[citation needed]
Pageants
The arena hosted the third and fourth edition of the Miss Universe Philippines pageant, on April 30, 2022 and May 13, 2023 respectively.[27][28] Additionally, Eat Bulaga!'s grand coronation day of Miss Millennial Philippines 2017 was also held at the arena on September 30, 2017.
The arena hosted Tanduay Alab Pilipinas' first game of the 2017–18 ABL season. It was the first time that Alab played in an arena as large as the Mall of Asia Arena, and the first ABL game in the arena.[32] The arena also hosted the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League All-Stars on March 2, 2019, where the Southern All-Stars prevailed over the Northern All-Stars, 109–84. The 2021 MPBL Invitational tournament was held at the arena from December 11–23, and the first to allow live audience since the COVID-19 pandemic in a half capacity.
The NBA played its first-ever Global Games in the Philippines on October 10, 2013 with a first preseason game between Houston Rockets and the Indiana Pacers. Rockets dominated Pacers in a 116-96 win. It is the first ever NBA game played in Southeast Asia.[33]
FIBA Asia Cup
The Philippines hosted the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship on August 1–11, 2013. The SM Mall of Asia Arena served as the main venue with the Ninoy Aquino Stadium as the second venue for the tournament. It recorded an attendance of 19,989 during the final game between the host Philippines and Iran.[34]
SM Mall of Asia Arena served as one of the host venues for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup which was hosted by the Philippines from August 25 to September 10, 2023, alongside co-hosts Japan and Indonesia. The arena hosted all games up to the final round of the tournament. The Mall of Asia Arena has also hosted several 2019 and 2023 World Cup qualification games.
Volleyball
The SM Mall of Asia Arena serves as one of the playing venues of the Premier Volleyball League (PVL).
On March 6, 2013, the DLSU Lady Spikers became the first team in any Philippine sports to celebrate the first-ever championship in the arena in front of an 18,779 crowd, when they won the UAAP women's volleyball championship.
On October 9, 2017, the Ateneo Lady Eagles and De La Salle Lady Spikers played a volleyball match, dubbed "The Battle of the Rivals", in reference to their rivalry being noted as the well known rivalry in Philippine sports. Different generations of the teams between Season 74 to Season 78 came together to play against each other, and proceeds of the game would go to each school's charity foundation, and Rebisco Foundation Inc.
Pasay City was one of the host cities for the 2023 FIVB Volleyball Men's Nations League preliminary round, which marked the second straight year the event was held in the Philippines. The arena hosted the pool 6 matches from July 4 to 9, 2023.[37]
From June 7–12, 2016, the arena held a professional Dota 2eSports tournament, known as the Manila Major 2016, which was hosted by Valve and produced by PGL eSports. The Manila Major is the third event of Valve's Dota Major Championships where 16 international teams competed.[44]
The SM Mall of Asia Arena served as the main venue for the Encounter with the Families event, led by Pope Francis during his papal visit to the Philippines on January 16, 2015. The event was a dialogue between Pope Francis and an audience of families.[47][48] The arena also hosted Bo Sanchez's Kerygma Conference (now Feast Conference) in 2012 and annually from 2014 to 2019.[49][50][51]
The arena also hosted several events of various churches, including Victory Christian Fellowship. In 2019, the Jesus Global Youth Day was also held at the arena. In September 2022, Australian Christian worship band Planetshakers performed at the arena in their first event in the Philippines since January 2020.
On December 9, 2016, Ang Dating Daan celebrated its 36th broadcast anniversary at the arena with a Special Worldwide Bible Exposition.[52]
The Autism Society of the Philippines held the Angels Walk for Autism every year, and the parade starting from the Coral Way and ending at the MOA Music Hall.[55][56]
E SM Mall of Asia 
Esplanade Seaside Terminal
