Sixty-five million pesos.
That’s how much the PBA will spend for its planned bubble in Clark, which Chairman Ricky Vargas himself disclosed on Saturday during his guest appearance on the Power And Play program.
“The commissioner has always stayed away from that question,” the amiable executive said in the show hosted by former league commissioner Noli Eala.
“But I’ll tell you, it’s close to sixty-five million pesos that will cost us.”
In Thursday’s Zoom presser held after the board of governors’ meeting, Vargas and Commissioner Willie Marcial did not divulge the exact figures the PBA will shell out for its planned season restart in the bubble.
Vargas, though, said that Asia’s pioneering pro league will spend “quite a sum of money” for this resumption of the tournament, that has been suspended since March no thanks to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The TNT KaTropa governor also revealed that a huge chunk of the expenses will go into accommodation and food, although the league was able to score discounts, especially on the former.
Marcial has earlier expressed gratitude to Bases and Conversion Development Authority President and Presidential Adviser on Flagship Programs Vince Dizon for helping with the discounts on the hotel and venue.
The entire PBA delegation will be housed exclusively at the four-star Quest Hotel, while the games will be held at the Angeles University Foundation Gym, which is just a 10-minute drive from the said hotel.
Fortunately, the league will not need to worry about COVID-19 testing inside the bubble. Vargas gladly shared that Clark will shoulder the costs on such.
“Ang pinakamalaking parte sa cost is the accommodation and the food. But we got a lot of discounts at the venue. And in fact, thanks to Clark, even the testing now is for free. It could have been more than that.”
