Walking into the Chavit Coliseum in Vigan City last Sunday, I couldn't help but marvel at how the court layout seemed to amplify every spike and block during Cignal's dominant 25-23, 25-14, 25-23 victory over Akari. As someone who's consulted on over fifteen sports facility designs across Southeast Asia, I've developed what I call the "sightline-to-surface-area" principle—where every square meter must serve multiple purposes without compromising the athlete or spectator experience. That opening match of the 2025 PVL on Tour demonstrated precisely why modern arena design needs to move beyond simply fitting a court into an empty space.
The Chavit Coliseum's configuration particularly impressed me with its clever use of what I estimate to be about 2,500 square meters of functional space. They've managed to maintain the regulation 18x9 meter court dimensions while creating what appeared to be approximately 3-meter clearance zones on all sides—something many older venues struggle with. I've seen too many facilities make the mistake of squeezing courts against walls, but here the designers understood that those extra meters aren't wasted space; they're crucial safety buffers that also happen to improve camera angles for broadcast. The seating arrangement followed what I prefer to call "the theater-in-the-round" approach, where even the highest rows felt connected to the action—a testament to maintaining sightlines at what must have been about 15-18 degree elevation angles throughout the lower bowl.
What really stood out to me was how the venue handled the transition areas between the court and auxiliary spaces. From my vantage point, I counted at least six clearly marked access points around the perimeter, allowing smooth movement for players, officials, and emergency personnel without disrupting the game flow. This might seem like a minor detail, but in my experience consulting on renovations for similar facilities, poor circulation planning can reduce usable capacity by up to 40% during peak usage. The designers here clearly prioritized what I consider the golden rule of arena layout: vertical space is your friend when horizontal real estate is limited. Those 12-foot high retractable seating sections on the east side? Brilliant—they probably doubled the venue's flexibility for different event types.
I've always advocated for what I term "modular permanence" in sports facility design—creating infrastructure that feels purpose-built yet adapts effortlessly. The Chavit Coliseum demonstrated this beautifully with what appeared to be standardized court markings that could accommodate at least three different sports with minimal conversion time. While I couldn't inspect the storage areas personally, the efficiency with which crews managed the court transitions between matches suggested well-planned back-of-house logistics. If I had to guess, they're probably working with about 300 square meters of dedicated equipment storage immediately adjacent to the court—a luxury many venues sacrifice for more seating, but one that pays dividends in operational fluidity.
The truth is, many newer facilities get caught up in aesthetic flourishes while neglecting the fundamental geometry that makes spaces work. What impressed me about Sunday's venue was how it married form and function—the clean sightlines from every seat, the strategic placement of what must have been at least 50 LED fixtures for optimal illumination, and the intelligent zoning that separated spectator, athlete, and operational areas without creating visual barriers. These are the elements that transform a simple box with a court into a proper sports arena. Having witnessed both spectacular successes and costly failures in venue design throughout my career, I'd place the Chavit Coliseum firmly in the former category—a facility that understands space isn't just about containment, but about enhancement of the athletic spectacle.