Fans of US singer Taylor Swift, also known as Swifties, take pictures next to signage at the "Eras Tour Trail" that depicts different eras of the pop star's career at the Marina Bay Sands complex in Singapore on February 28, 2024. - More than 300,000 Swifties from Singapore and neighbouring countries will attend the US superstar's six sold-out Eras Tour shows at the National Stadium from March 2-9. (Photo by Roslan RAHMAN / AFP)

MANILA - Will the next major Taylor Swift concert tour finally have a Philippine leg?

That’s what the Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC) is aiming for as it sets out to build an up to 35,000-seater arena in Clark, Pampanga.

“We want to be able to host the major international events-- professional sports and bigger concerts like Coldplay or Taylor Swift. And we will be Taylor Swift-ready by 2028,” said CIAC President Arrey Perez during the Build Better More Infrastructure Forum in New Clark City in Tarlac on Friday.

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Perez said the CIAC is just waiting for proposals from the private sector as it looks to fund the complex, which will also include other establishments such as a convention center and a mall, through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP)

“It’s a huge undertaking. It’s 40 hectares and more than P30 billion so we will really need the partnership with the private sector. We already did a lot of promotions, market sensing, market missions, and we’ve gotten some interest,” he said.

According to Perez, there are at least 3 entities that have shown interest in building the project with them: one from Singapore, one from the US, and one local.

“It’s a mix of local and international companies who are interested. Some are planning to join forces together, he added.

Perez said the future Clark Arena would be the perfect venue for big events considering that it will only be within walking distance from the Clark International Airport. CIAC is also planning to build a multi-modal facility in the area to make it more accessible to the public.

This is on top of the planned North-South Commuter Railway project that will connect Clark to Manila and further down to Laguna.

“So imagine, if you go here to watch, you come from Manila, you ride the train, you bring your car-- there's a multimodal terminal. Or your relatives from Singapore, Hong Kong or wherever, they can fly to Clark,” said Perez.

“Apart from that, Clark really needs also more attractions so we can attract more passengers and more airlines to go to the airport kasi ang aking mandate is to make sure the airport will grow,” he added.

The Philippines earlier missed out on Taylor Swift’s Eras tour, hailed the highest-grossing concert tour of all time, allegedly due to Singapore’s exclusivity clause that supposedly prevented the superstar from holding her concert in other Southeast Asian countries.