The Quadricentennial Pavilion (colloquially known as QPav and originally known as UST Sports Complex) is a 5,792-seat multi-purpose gymnasium of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) located at the site of the former old Engineering Complex and adjacent football field in front of the Roque Ruaño Building.
The Quadricentennial Pavilion is one of the building construction projects of the university for its celebration of 400th year of foundation in 2011.UST starts new gymnasium construction due at 400th anniversary , retrieved January 28, 2010 The new sports complex replaced the old UST Gymnasium which was built in 1933 and demolished in 2011.78-year-old gymnasium demolished; paves way for construction of alumni center. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
History
Since 1933, the university only had the old UST Gymnasium, which was considered then as the biggest gymnasium during its time, as venue to hold practices for its athletes, as well as to hold non-sporting events.
In recent years, the student population increased to 40,000, prompting university officials to recognize the need for a new sporting facility within the campus.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held on July 29, 2008, after the Vatican gave its "blessing" to the project as UST is a pontifical university, directly under the supervision of the Holy See.
The location of the sports complex lies on the former site of the Engineering Sports Complex that has an open field for softball and football, outdoor basketball courts, a tennis court, a covered basketball court with bleachers, and a canteen.
It was originally named as the UST Sports Complex, but the Council of Regents announced on October 18, 2011, that the new building will be called the Quadricentennial Pavilion.
Rev. Fr. Rolando V. de la Rosa, the former Rector of the university, described the then yet to be built facility as more than just a place for events and ceremonies as it will serve as a monument to "the unique and unparalleled holistic" sports development program of the university. The facility was planned to be the home of the UST varsity players and the Growling Tigers starting academic year of 2012.
The Quadricentennial Pavilion has been the venue for the Solemn Investiture (Faculties and Colleges offering graduate and undergraduate programs), Graduation (Senior High School), and Moving Up Ceremonies (Junior High School) of its faculties and colleges since 2012, with some colleges with smaller number of graduates using other university facilities such as the Santisimo Rosario Parish (for graduates of the Ecclesiastical Faculties), Albertus Magnus Auditorium (for Education High School and the Conservatory of Music), or the San Martin de Porres Building's "Medicine" Auditorium.
The Quadricentennial Pavilion has also served as the main venue of the annual Philippine Conference on New Evangelization (PCNE), hosted by the Archdiocese of Manila, since 2013, except on 2020, when it was held at Araneta Coliseum, and from 2021-2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The PCNE returned to UST in 2024.
From at least UAAP Season 85 to UAAP Season 86, the arena has been mostly used by the Lady Tigresses and occasionally by the Growling Tigers men's basketball team.
On November 16, 2025, the Pavilion hosted two Philippine Basketball Association games, with the NLEX Road Warriors and the Titan Ultra Giant Risers in the first game, while the second game featured the Phoenix Fuel Masters and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel.
Architecture and design
The Quadricentennial Pavilion was designed by chief architect Carmelo Casas, who also designed the UST Carpark Building. The first architectural plan for the facility was made in 2007. For three years before the groundbreaking of the facility in July 2008, Millenium Sports Universal Co. coordinated with Casas in the planning and design stage where they were tasked to create a sporting facility of at least 5,000 seating capacity.
The structure has four storeys with its first floor being elevated to address potential flooding. The dimensions of the sports facility is and stands on a lot. A double wall design, by devising two walls separated by a space, was employed for the interior walls of the structure for noise insulation. To minimize solar exposure to the sports venue's interior, louvers were utilized as part of the building's façade. This feature was also used to highlight to emphasize the building's exterior.
The project manager the facility was Asian Technicon Managers & Consultants, Inc.
Features Sports
The dance hall for the Salinggawi Dance Troupe as well as training halls for badminton, fencing, judo, table tennis, and taekwondo are located in the ground floor of the Quadricentennial Pavilion. There is also a two-level fitness center on this floor and a gymnastics room. Five lecture rooms for IPEA (Institute of Physical Education and Athletics) is also located on this floor. On the third level, the facility features a two-lane overall track encircling the building. The first floor training facilities and dance hall has a of rubberized flooring.
Four-storey sports complex mainly features a maplewood hardcourt basketball court on the second floor with rows of seats rising up to the fourth level of the building. The topmost section are accessible from the fourth level while the middle section is accessible from the third level. The court is surrounded by a tiger-stripe border with a tiger's head as another design element. The basketball venue is surrounded by orange, red and yellow seats.
In total the Quadricentennial Pavilion has a seating capacity of at least 5,792 people. local-distributor Millenium Sports Universal Co., provided retractable rows of 1,562 polyprothylene chairs. Outside the playing court, the flooring is made up of engineered wood by Robbins which was also responsible for the wooden court. Maine-base Hussey supplied the retractable rows and chairs up to the fourth level. S'portable Scoreboards supplied the 4-sided scoreboard of the facility.
Others
The second floor holds the offices for IPEA, guidance counselors, and sports science. The institute have a faculty room and other multimedia rooms for students. This floor also hosts two dug-outs and two lounges for coaches.
The new gym also serves as a museum that enshrines all the trophies, medals and other memorabilia of various UAAP championships the university has won. Championship banners will also hang from the rafters of the gymnasium.UST gets a new gym , Retrieved January 28, 2010 On the third level, the facility's windows holds posters and memorabilia displaying sporting events and selected Thomasian athletes.
On one side facing the Roque Ruano Building are retail spaces for banks and restaurants. The facility is also capable of hosting non-athletic events such as concerts, graduation ceremonies, conferences, and the university mass.
Utilities Its toilets and faucets inside the lavatories and restrooms are automated and the entire vicinity is controlled by a centralized air-conditioning system. A closed circuit television (CCTV) system is also installed in selected areas within the sports venue for security. The CCTV network is controlled from the Information Technology Data room which is located in the second floor of the facility.
Campione steel sculpture
The main lobby of the facility features a steel sculpture named Campione (Spanish: champion), designed by Thomasian artist Joe Datuin. The sculptor won in the 2008 Olympic Committee Sports and Arts contest.
Events Date EventRef. October 1, 2011Gawad Kalinga 8th Anniversary Campus hosts Gawad Kalinga anniversary, retrieved October 1, 2011 November 16–18, 20117th Quacquarelli Symonds—Asia Pacific Professional Leaders in Education (QS-Apple) Conference and Exhibition UST hosts international education conference , retrieved December 20, 2011 November 29, 201110th International Congress International Society of Dacryology and Dry Eye (ISD & DE) 10th International Congress of ISD & DE 11/29/2011, retrieved May 16, 2012 February 28–29, 2012 4th National COCOPEA Congress , retrieved March 6, 2012October 16-18, 20131st Philippine Conference on New EvangelizationJanuary 15-17, 20152nd Philippine Conference on New Evangelization April 10, 2016 PiliPinas Debates 2016 – Metro Manila leg July 15-17, 20163rd Philippine Conference on New Evangelization September 3, 2016 UAAP Season 79 Ballroom Formation Dance Competition July 28-30, 20174th Philippine Conference on New EvangelizationJuly 18-22, 20185th Philippine Conference on New EvangelizationApril 28, 2019 CNN Philippines debate for the 2019 Senate electionJuly 18-21, 20196th Philippine Conference on New EvangelizationFebruary 26, 2022 CNN Philippines Vice Presidential DebatesFebruary 27, 2022 CNN Philippines Presidential DebatesMay 2022 Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting command center for the 2022 general electionJanuary 19-21, 202410th Philippine Conference on New EvangelizationJuly 18-20, 202511th Philippine Conference on New EvangelizationNovember 16, 2025 2025–26 PBA Philippine Cup elimination round
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