Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The Philippine Basketball Association are expecting to set a new attendance record for an indoor arena on opening night of their new season.
The Philippine Arena is the largest indoor arena in the world, with a maximum capacity of 55,000. Built this year for $213m (£132.3m) it opened officially in July.
The League already holds the record with 30,000 packing inside venues in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, but league commissioner Chito Salud says that mark has already been surpassed.
"I have been informed that 80 percent of the venue tickets have been sold, translating to some 35,000 fans already confirmed to attend," he said in a statement.
"This is a huge number by any measure that can only become bigger as we get closer to opening day."
The venue is far in excess of those seen in the NBA, the world's leading basketball league, where the biggest arena is the United Centre, home of the Chicago Bulls; that holds a maximum of 23,129.
The biggest arena in Europe is the Kombank Arena (25,000) in Serbia and the biggest in the US is the Rupp Arena in Kentucky (24,000). Manchester's Phones 4u Arena and The O2 hold 23,000 people.
Salud added: "We in the PBA feel privileged to have this opportunity to give our fans a treat - fans whose unwavering support have brought PBA to where it is today."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments