The Royal MAS Arena was ceremonially opened on the 28th of March 2016 by the Prime Minister, Hon. Ranil Wickremesinghe amidst a gathering of distinguished dignitaries including the Minister of Education, Hon. Akila Viraj Kariyawasam. The Arena, built at a cost of 150 million rupees, was donated to their Alma Mater by the founders of MAS; Deshamanya Mahesh Amalean, Ajay Amalean and Sharad Amalean. The Arena was constructed by the 04th Engineering Regiment of the Sri Lanka Army under the command of Lt. Gen Jagath Jayasooriya.
This first-of-its-kind arena is designed to nurture and develop young talented sportsmen of the school and also become a venue that benefits a range of sports in Sri Lanka. Designed to facilitate many sports, the Royal MAS Arena is capable of hosting tournaments for Boxing, Wrestling, Karate, Wushu, Judo, Fencing, Table Tennis, Gymnastics, Chess and Carrom.
This versatile, fully functional arena, customised to suit many sporting needs, is located on Rajakeeya Mawatha, next to the entrance to the Royal College Primary Section. Featuring modern amenities such as completely retractable seating, fully equipped locker rooms and customisable lighting, the Royal MAS Arena also features Sri Lanka’s first ever world class Gym Pit for gymnastics. Designed by the consultant architect Mr. Nandana Lal Karunasena, founder of Nandana Karunasena Associates, the Arena can accommodate a maximum of 1000 spectators.
Speaking on the importance of such an investment, Chairman of MAS, Deshamanya Mahesh Amalean explained, “The Royal Mas Arena was designed with one goal in mind – empowering the young sportsmen of Royal College and the youth of Sri Lanka with a state-of-the-art facility for achieving excellence in sports. Not only is it an investment in developing the skills of future champions of Sri Lanka, it is our way of contributing to the creation of future Olympic standard heroes. We are proud to partner with Royal College for this project and look forward to witnessing the incredible talent the Royal MAS Arena will nurture in time to come”.
Speaking on behalf of Royal College, the Principal B.A. Abeyrathna said, “The Royal MAS Arena represents a new generation in sports development for Royal College. We are pleased that MAS has provided for us an Arena of this nature and delighted that our students will have access to training facilities of this standard. I must also mention that Royalists are the most fortunate to have such dedicated and loyal old boys who exhibit great generosity towards their old school”.
Prime Minister, Hon. Ranil Wickremesinghe and other distinguished dignitaries were welcomed by Principal of Royal College, B. A. Abeyrathna at the opening ceremony. The highlight of the programme was the Martial Arts fused dance act performed and choreographed by the students of Royal College. The programme concluded with dinner and fellowship at the Arena.
Photo captions: (From left) Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe; Chairman of MAS Holdings Deshamanya Mahesh Amalean and Mayor of Colombo A.J.M. Muzammil