Jai alai In the 1970s and early 1980s Orbea's Jai-Alai in Hialeah featured four indoor courts. Two of the courts played with hard rubber balls ("pelota de goma") were shorter than a standard court (75' / 90') & used for training players and amateur leagues. There were also two courts played with the regulation pelota (hardball / "pelota dura"), one short in length (115') and one regulation length (150'). Orbea's also sold equipment such as cestas and helmets. Retired players visited and played as well as highly skilled amateurs, pros from Miami Jai-Alai and various other professional frontons operating at the time.
Manila Jai Alai Building murders have been said to have occurred there, as disputes on gambling on the results of jai alai games were prevalent. In 1986, the game per se was banned in the country due to allegations of game fixing. When Lito Atienza was elected Mayor of Manila in 1998, he immediately undertook several urban renewal projects in the city. One of the targets was the demolition of the now decrepit Jai-Alai Buildling. The vicinity had been taker over by vagrants, and the games transferred to Harrison Plaza in Malate, Manila. An effort by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts