SM City Cebu, also known locally as SM Cebu or sometimes SM Mabolo, is a large shopping mall located in Cebu City, Philippines. It is the 4th shopping mall owned and developed by SM Prime Holdings, the country's largest shopping mall owner and developer. It is the company's first shopping mall outside of Metro Manila and the fifth largest shopping mall in the Philippines. It has a land area of 11.8 hectares and a gross floor area of On an average day, more than 100,000 people visit SM City Cebu, with the figure increasing to 140,000 to 150,000 on weekends. Due to Cebu City's position as a transshipment point for the Visayas and Mindanao, and SM City Cebu's location close to the city's port area, the mall attracts a significant number of transient shoppers.
History
The mall first opened in November 1993, and was seen as catering to the low and middle class of shoppers, in contrast to its upmarket competitor, Ayala Center Cebu which opened a few months later. An expansion wing that particularly targeted upper class customers was added in 2007.
Design
SM City Cebu is a seven-level complex namely lower ground floor, upper ground floor, second floor, third floor, fourth floor, fifth floor, and roof deck featuring a total of eight cinemas with seven regular cinemas and one IMAX theater with a total seating capacity of 5,812, a food court, a fully computerized bowling center, 8,000-square meter amusement center, and a 2,000-square meter trade hall. Prior to the addition of the Northwing, it had a car park capacity of 1,629. The Northwing expansion, opened in 2007, features two floors of retail stores, restaurants, and cafes. It houses more than 200 tenants and caters to a more upscale clientele. The expansion also added three levels of covered parking, and a one level of roof deck parking.
Development
SM City Cebu, opened on November 27, 1993 with an area of. To initially attract shoppers, Manila-based movie and television stars and entertainers performed free concerts at the mall. Free jeepney rides to the mall were offered to fulfill the lack of available public transportation.
Northwing
Construction on SM City Cebu's expansion building, dubbed the Northwing, began in March 2006. The expansion, which was developed at a cost of P1.3 billion, was built on the parking lot to the north of the existing building, temporarily decreasing the number of parking spaces by more than 30%. Construction of the Northwing started in April 2006, and opened in November 30, 2007. It increased the total gross floor area of SM City Cebu by, for a total of. The first 2 floors are for the mall's expansion, while the 3rd, 4th and 5th floors are for the indoor carpark including the roof deck.
In early 2008, SM Prime Holdings signed a deal with IMAX Corporation for the opening of additional IMAX theaters, following the success of the country's first IMAX theater at SM Mall of Asia. The IMAX theater planned for SM City Cebu will replace the old screen in cinema 4. It will feature clearer picture quality due to its use of a digital projector rather than a film projector. A budget of P100-million was allotted for the renovation and was opened to the public last July 9, 2010 with James Cameron's Avatarin 3D.
Cyberzone
SM City Cebu hosted Cyberzone Game Fest 2019 from April 26 to 28, 2019 featuring different activities such as a tournament.
