The Blue Eagle Gym Flies Again

When Katipunan Avenue was still a vast grassland, the Blue Eagle Gym was the proudest landmark in the area. The gymnasium was the first building to rise on the Loyola Heights campus in 1949, three years before the college and high school units of the Ateneo were transferred there from Padre Faura.

According to historical records, the gym was constructed under the direction of Ateneo Rector William F. Masterson, S.J., to be an alternative venue to the Rizal Stadium for the National Collegiate Athletic Association games. It was viewed as a spectacular development for the university whose student population included many sports enthusiasts, particularly basketball fanatics. Its inauguration on 3 December 1949 was graced by esteemed alumni such as former Senator Ambrosio Padilla, who was then a member of the Ateneo Alumni Association Board of Directors, and Luis “Moro� Lorenzo, who represented the student body.

Unique Features
The gymnasium stands 213 feet wide and 281 feet long (or 60,863 square feet) and cost six hundred fifty thousand pesos to construct, a huge amount back then. It was built with a unique feature - the court ran along its width and not its length, as most gymnasiums are designed. The design was similar to the quonset huts put up in Padre Faura after World War II. Mr. Rodolfo Allayban of the University Archives reveals that, at one time, the ground floor of the gym was used as a warehouse for the construction materials that were eventually used to put up the first buildings at the Loyola Heights campus. Thus began the gym’s life-giving role in the University’s history.

Aside from this feature, all sides of the gym were left open to allow natural ventilation. At that time, this was very ideal since the gym was situated on a hill, where the temperature was 10oC cooler than that of Manila. The gym was constructed with no posts or pillars that could obstruct the view of spectators. The goals were made of transparent glass and were also initially suspended from the gym’s rafters. This was done in order to provide members of the gallery with an unobstructed view of the action as well as to prevent the players from slamming onto the goal posts. Later, these were replaced with the conventional type of goals in order to facilitate maintenance. Locker and shower rooms were also constructed for the players. The gym had a seating capacity of 7,500 and parking space for up to 400 cars, making it one of the largest gymnasiums at that time.

University Athletics director Mr. Jose A. Capistrano Jr. recalls that the Blue Eagle Gym also used to house two duckpin bowling alleys, a billiard hall, an athletes’ dormitory, a weights room and snack bars. Aside from serving as a physical education facility, the gymnasium also housed the Physical Plant Central Maintenance Department, the Social Service Center, the Security Office, and the Reserved Officers Training Corps (ROTC) Office and Armory.

Through the Years
The late 50s saw the Blue Eagle Gym also become a live-in dormitory for the school’s basketball team. Under the watchful eye of Fr. James Reuter S.J., the members of the Ateneo Men’s Basketball Team, which became the 1959 NCAA champions, were quartered on the gym’s third floor, which was set with numerous beds and study tables. These necessities were provided for the team’s members during the basketball season, in view of the lack of space in Bellarmine Hall, the school’s only dormitory at that time.

During the late 60s until the mid-70s, the Blue Eagle Gym was leased to the family of Emerito Ramos. The gym was then renamed Loyola Center, being the only establishment of its kind in the Loyola Heights area. Under the family’s tenure, the gym saw a myriad of activities taking place literally under its roof. Numerous shows, concerts and live performances from foreign artists were held at the Loyola Center, making it a veritable mini-Araneta Coliseum. And because of its popularity, the name Loyola Center stuck.

Some years after the lease expired, school officials decided to revert to the original name, Blue Eagle Gym. The gym still served as a venue for basketball games, especially with the advent of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP). It also became a venue for other sports events like the Southeast Asian Games, which the country hosted in 1991. The gym was used then as the venue for sepak takraw. Although the gym was still operational in spite of its years, there was no stable influx of funding at that time in order to maintain it. As a result, its facilities deteriorated.

After an inspection and research conducted by students of the Ateneo in 1997, the gym was declared to be in poor condition. In their words published in The Guidon: “The facilities in the gym have been there since the gym was marked in Ateneo history. After 48 years of use, the facilities were obviously worn out and too old. The mahogany floor of the gym was the very same hard court on which the great Moro Lorenzo played. The wood is aging, and although the court was painted yearly, the color was not enough to conceal its pitiful state. Since 1948, the court had only been sanded twice, the last one being in 1987, a decade before the inspection.�

Other observations included the termite infestation of the hard court, the pitiful state of the spectators’ washrooms and players’ locker rooms, poor lighting, the accumulated dust and pollution from neighboring Katipunan Avenue, the deteriorated condition of the spectators’ seats and, above all, the heat that accumulates in the gym during games, especially in the summer months.

Refurbishing the Gym
Finally in 2000, the school decided to make the necessary improvements to the gym. It started by appointing Mr. Capistrano, who was then vice-president for Planning and Alumni Affairs, as director for University Athletics. Studies were conducted to see what improvements the gym would need. The studies showed that the gym needed additional supporting structures to bear the huge weight of the bleachers. So, just before the 2002 UAAP basketball season, the needed structural improvements were made. The washrooms were cleaned and repainted and the locker and shower rooms also refurbished.

Improvements were also made for the University Athletics Office on the second floor to make room for two conference rooms and a sports library. Aside from the existing practice facilities for the judo and table tennis teams, the gym now accommodates an aikido training area, a fencing strip, a baseball batting cage, a chess room, a small dormitory and an exhibit room for the legendary Ateneo Blue Eagle Coach Baby Dalupan. The hardwood floor, which was purchased from the National Basketball Association, was also sanded and painted to improve the playing surface. The worn-out wooden lower box seats were replaced with monobloc chairs for spectator comfort and easier maintenance. Lastly, large industrial fans, which could be hooked up with mist fans, were placed in each corner of the court to cool the entire gym during games.

The Blue Eagle Gym Today
The Blue Eagle Gym today has definitely been revived from its crippled state. It continues to serve as the training facility for the chess, fencing, judo, table tennis and basketball teams. It is also used by the baseball, futsal, badminton, volleyball and golf athletes, the Blue Babble Battalion and band and the Ateneo Pep Squad. The university community also converges here during special events like the Big Blue Eagle Cheer Rally, masses and concerts.

Currently the Blue Eagle Gym is being spruced up for the 2005 UAAP basketball season in July. The University Athletics Office has high hopes for the gym’s becoming one of the regular venues for the UAAP basketball tournament, especially with the completion of Light Rail Transit 2. It is also vying to host the women’s basketball tournament of the Southeast Asian Games, which will be held in Manila in December. These events would entail further improvements such as new lockers for the players in the dug out, and refurbished washrooms for the spectators.

Mr. Capistrano plans to reinstall the weights room in the gym for athletes who could no longer be accommodated by the Moro Lorenzo Sports Center’s strength training facilities. A room for trophies, awards, sports memorabilia and resource materials are also in the drawing board. There are also plans to put up a small café and concessions within the gym.

It is no question that the Blue Eagle Gym plays an important role in the university. Not only does it give life to the campus through the various athletic programs and events that it hosts, it has also become the symbol of the Ateneo. Once the grandest and most prominent building along Katipunan, with the blue eagle swooping across its white façade, it has come to be known and remembered as the gateway to one of the best universities in the world.