SM Seaside Cebu Arena

SM Seaside Cebu Arena is a multipurpose indoor arena in South Road Properties, Cebu City, Philippines. The arena, located adjacent to the SM Seaside City complex, has 16,000-seating capacity and is the largest indoor arena in Cebu and in Visayas. History Conception and initial cancellation First proposed in 2013, SM Seaside Cebu Arena (then known as the "SM Seaside Arena") is planned to be a venue for local and international concerts, sports events, international conventions, and as the venue of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) and some select Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) games. The arena was also one of the proposed venues for the unsuccessful Philippine bid for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup. In January 2017, reports emerged that developer SM Prime Holdings had canceled its plans to build the arena. This occurred amidst an unfavorable political climate when Cebu City mayor Tomas Osmeña threatened to revoke several sale lots in the South Road Properties (SRP). Revival and construction The project was revived in late 2019 during the administration of Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella, with the arena, instead of being within the SM Seaside complex, now placed within South Coast City, an adjacent mixed-use development co-owned by SM Prime with Ayala Land. The SM Seaside Cebu Arena officially broke ground in 2021. It was originally set to open in June 2026. The arena officially opened on July 11, 2026, with the Cebu stop of Bini's Signals World Tour 2026 being the venue's first ever event. Events Entertainment Filipino girl group BINI were the first performers at the arena on July 11, 2026, for the second leg of their Signals World Tour, and the arena's first event. Rock band IV of Spades will also perform at the arena on July 18 as part of their 'Andalucia' Tour, as well as KZ Tandingan and TJ Monterde on September 5, and Yeng Constantino on September 20 as part of her 'Biyaheng Bente' 20th Anniversary concert tour. Australian contemporary worship music band Hillsong Worship will be the venue's first international performers as part of their Asia Tour on September 18, 2026. American pop rock band LANY will perform at the arena as part of their Soft World Tour on November 6 and 12, 2026. A Disney on Ice event is also scheduled to be held at the arena. Sports The arena will host the 2027 FIBA Women's Asia Cup and the 2027 FIVB Women's Volleyball Nations League. It was originally set to host the second week of the 2026 VNL tournament, but was moved to the Philsports Arena in Pasig owing to the arena not being completed in time. It is currently being eyed as a venue for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2028 Asian Beach Games. In addition, the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), East Asia Super League (EASL), and the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) have also expressed interest in holding games in the arena. Games featuring the Philippines men's national basketball team during the sixth and final window of the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup Asian Qualifiers in late February 2027 are also being eyed. Facilities SM Seaside Cebu Arena was built at the cost of ₱7 billion and was designed by Arquitectonica. The venue has a seating capacity of 16,000 and a full house capacity of 25,000 which is bigger than the SM Arena Mall of Asia with a seating capacity of 15,000 and a full house capacity of 20,000. This makes it among the largest indoor arenas in the Philippines. It was built on a 19,000-square-meter (200,000 sq ft) lot with about 70,000 square meters (750,000 sq ft) of gross floor area. It is also linked to the SMX Convention Center Cebu and the SM Seaside City shopping mall via a skybridge. See also SM Seaside City SM Arena Mall of Asia Cebu Coliseum List of indoor arenas in the Philippines References External links Media related to SM Seaside Arena at Wikimedia Commons