CCSC field readied for AFC event

Preparation for the Cebu City Sports Center (CCSC) football field for the upcoming Group B stage of the 2013 AFC President’s Cup slated May 8, 10, and 12 is now in its final stages.

Cebu Football Association (CFA) board member Rodney Orale said they have already put fertilizers for the grass on the field. Next up will be the sand dressing to flatten out the uneven areas.

By May 6, the CFA will cut the grass to adhere to the required height using the mower lent to them by the Cebu Country Club to give the pitch the stripe effect it sported during last November’s Faceoff between the Philippine Azkals and the Singapore Lions. They will also be painting the lines by then.

Orale added that the lights are 90 percent ready. They were set to do the final touches last night.

CFA president Pericles “Ricky” Dakay said the pitch will be brighter than during the Faceoff with the addition of 20 sets of 1,500-watt bulbs and 20 sets of 1,000-watt bulbs.

The CFA president also assured they have prepared for power outages. Two generator sets will once again be used with a third set on standby in anticipation of problems. The CFA is trying to avoid the incident that happened at the Rizal Memorial football stadium during the group stages of the AFC Challenge Cup last March, wherein the match between the Philippine Azkals and Cambodia was interrupted by a power outage.

Glenn Quisido, overall committee chairman for the event, said that should there be a power outage, the most that it will take to shift to generator power is just 30 seconds.

Meanwhile, tickets are finally available for sale. The tickets are priced at P1,000 for the VIP section, P500 for the red, blue and white sections and P100 for general admission at the pink, yellow, and green sections.

They could be bought at the SM Cinemas nationwide or via smtickets.com. One ticket is good for one day, wherein two matches will be played at 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

A season pass is also offered, wherein a spectator who buys a ticket for two days will get the same seat for free on the third day.
Spectators are strongly advised to follow rules and regulations on what not to bring inside the CCSC such as bottled drinks, umbrellas, deadly weapons and canisters.

The Cebu Football Association (CFA) is also asking spectators to maintain cleanliness and good demeanor while watching the matches.
“Two of the things that the Singapore Lions appreciated while they were here last year was the warmth hospitality and the demeanor of the audience while watching the game,” said CFA president Pericles “Ricky” Dakay.