Ultra Stampede Rant

Much has been said about the Ultra Stampede, about ABSCBN, about poverty, etc. It gets tiresome just to watch the same old issues fly like... well, flies on turd.

What about the structural design? Nobody seems to be interested to know whether the venue was properly designed for such an event. How many pedestrian entrances does the the Ultra have? Are they adequate for a venue of such capacity? At full capcaity, how long does it take to fill the stadium? how long does it take to empty the said stadium in an emergency?

We have a national building code that guides builders and architects on such matters. We have laws such as the fire code of the philippines mandating the number of entry and exit points for all types of building. Were these followed by the builders (in the case of Ultra, wasn't it Imelda Marcos who commissioned the building of the then University of Life?)? corollary to that, was the stadium originally designed for such events in the first place? Wasn't it originally intended for a school gym?

From what I gathered, the stampede happened at the vehicular entrance going into the open field. Why was that gate used when it was clearly for vehicles only and not for pedestrian traffic? There were no turnstiles there, no ticket booths, no ticket checker personnel - only a gate and a driveway that inclines 30 degrees downslope. Clearly, the organizers fumbled the ball here.

I envy other countries that can easily mount huge gatherings. the UK's Wembley Stadium, the Houston Astrodome (not to be confused with the Cuneta Astrodome - another crowd unfriendly venue), LA's Staples Center (where Kobe lords it over during Lakers games) - these are only some of the great venues that accomodate upwards of 20,000 people on any given night. They also have dozens and dozens of pedestrian entrances with hundreds of turnstiles and barriers that segregate people, that make their passage orderly, etc. And after the event? ultra-wide exits that can accomodate the rush of people.