FIVE YEARS AGO during the pandemic, SM Supermalls President Steven Tan envisioned putting up a hub in all its shopping centers in the country to promote an active and healthy lifestyle for its customers.

It came to fruition on Sunday when Mr. Tan personally launched his brainchild called the SM Active Hub, the country’s largest sports playground, on Sunday at the SM Mall of Asia (MOA) Activity Center.

The SM Active Hub houses 44 pickleball courts and 14 running hubs across its 21 malls and 87 shopping centers all over the country to give Filipinos a place where they could take part in the sporting community.

That is also apart from its newly built football center atop the MOA as well as its skating rinks in its chain of SM Malls.

“We realized during the pandemic that health is just something that we should really push them to do, that was the birth of conceptualizing about really pushing for not just in the Mall of Asia, but across the country from Luzon all the way down Mindanao,” said Mr. Tan.

“And we decided, why limit it to Mall of Asia only, we need to do it also in at least 87 of our shopping centers across the country,” he added.

Whether you’re a casual enthusiast or a dedicated athlete, Mr. Tan is optimistic the SM Active Hub will revolutionize fitness and sports engagement in the country.

The launch was also graced by Toby’s Toby Caludio and RunRio’s Rio dela Cruz among others and supported by Toby’s, ASICS, Sports Central, Under Armour, Power Mac Center, Hydroaid, Daily Fix, But First Coffee and Taters.

To discover a range of SM Active Hub events, interested parties are encouraged to check the SM Malls Online app where they could also earn rewards, discounts and freebies. — Joey Villar

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