PBA expect record crowd at the Philippine Arena, the world's largest indoor venue

More than 35,000 tickets already sold for season opener

(Getty Images)

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."