It will be the largest and the first purpose-built multipurpose indoor arena in the province.
In an announcement by SM Prime on Tuesday, February 24, it disclosed new details regarding the upcoming SM Seaside Cebu Arena.
The said venue will rise inside South Coast City, the integrated estate developed by the conglomerate in Cebu, and will have an over 25,000 seating capacity across the multi-level spectator areas.
It will also have a professional-grade sports and entertainment systems, corporate suites, VIP lounges, and a range of food and beverage concepts and other lifestyle amenities.
Overall, the SM Seaside Cebu Arena has a building footprint of about 1.6 hectares and a total gross floor area of roughly 7.4 hectares.
According to SM Prime, the arena will open in June 2026, with the group already in talks with concert promoters, sports federations, family entertainment producers, and corporate event organizers to book the venue, which it told signals the strong early interest and a healthy pipeline of events.
SM Prime President Jeffrey Lim noted, “By building a venue of this scale in Cebu, we are strengthening the Visayas as a destination for international events, domestic tourism and long-term investment.”
He furthered, “There is a lot of excitement and anticipation for this project because Cebuanos have long supported live concerts, and having a large-capacity venue in Cebu makes these events more accessible without the added cost of traveling to Manila.”
A SkyBridge will also link the arena to the nearby SMX Convention Center Cebu and SM Seaside City Cebu mall, which will directly connect visitors to these facilities.
SM Seaside Cebu Arena is the next indoor arena of the group, following the SM Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena in Pasay City that opened to the public in 2012 via the two-night Born This Way Ball concert of global superstar Lady Gaga.
