The Iloilo Freedom Grandstand, also known as the New Iloilo Freedom Grandstand, is a

grandstand A grandstand is a normally permanent structure for seating spectators. This includes both auto racing and horse racing. The grandstand is in essence like a single section of a stadium, but differs from a stadium in that it does not wrap a ...

located on Muelle Loney Street in

Iloilo City Proper Iloilo City Proper (''City Proper'') (also locally known as Downtown, Ciudad, Iloilo Poblacion, or simply Iloílo) is one of the seven districts of Iloilo City in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines. It is the second-most densely popula ...

Iloilo City Iloilo City, officially the City of Iloilo ( hil, Siyudad/Dakbanwa sang Iloilo; fil, Lungsod ng Iloilo), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines on the island of Panay. It is the capital city of t ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. It was built in 2018 as a replacement for the old grandstand with the same name located on

Calle Real Calle means "street" in Spanish and Venetian. Calle may also refer to: Places *Calle-Calle River, southern Chile *Stations of the TransMilenio mass-transit system of Bogotá, Colombia: **Suba Calle 95 (TransMilenio) ** Suba Calle 100 (TransMilen ...

, which was demolished the same year as part of the revival project of Sunburst Park, where the grandstand used to be located. The grandstand is a popular venue for the

Dinagyang Festival The Dinagyang Festival is a religious and cultural festival in Iloilo City, Philippines, held annually on the 4th Sunday of January, or right after the Sinulog in Cebu and the Ati-Atihan Festival in Kalibo, Aklan. It is one of the biggest festiv ...

, where the Ati Tribe Competition is mainly held.

History

The original Iloilo Freedom Grandstand was built in 1955 within Freedom Park (formerly known as Sunburst Park) by the first elective city mayor, Rodolfo Ganzon, as a concrete memorial to the new found political freedom of Iloilo City residents, which restored to the people of Arevalo, Jaro,

La Paz La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities ...

Mandurriao Mandurriao () is one of the seven districts of Iloilo City, in the province of Iloilo, on the island of Panay, in the Western Visayas region, in the Philippines. It is the second-largest district by land area as well as the third-most populous di ...

, Molo, and

their constitutional right to elect their own officials, which used to be appointed. In 1992, under the administration of Mayor Mansing Malabor, the grandstand was renovated and expanded, which adversely affected the view of

Iloilo Customs House The Iloilo Customs House, also known as Aduana de Iloilo, is a historical building in Iloilo City, Philippines. It was built in 1916, designed by American architect George Fenhagen, then Consulting Architect of the Bureau of Public Works in the ...

at the back of it. As a result, the other structures in Freedom Park, such as eateries and display booths, were demolished. In 2018, the new Iloilo Freedom Grandstand was built on Muelle Loney Street facing the

Iloilo River The Iloilo River is an estuary river located in the province of Iloilo, in Western Visayas, Philippines. The river starts in Oton, Iloilo, Oton at the Batiano estuary, then traverses through the Iloilo City districts of Lapuz, Iloilo City, Lapuz, ...

, while the old structure was demolished as part of the revitalization of Sunburst Park.

References

{{Reflist Buildings and structures in Iloilo City