Mexico Metropolis’s Azteca Stadium is a 15-kilometer journey from the Zócalo—roughly the middle of the metropolis of 18 million inhabitants. The drive can take the 18 minutes predicted by Google Maps, however it will probably simply exceed an hour if you happen to occur to be in the course of what my driver calls “the height,” the time when the town’s perpetual swarm of vehicles swells to bursting.
The primary feeling on seeing the Coloso de Santa Úrsula— the nickname given to the stadium the place each Pelé and Maradona performed legendary video games—is that of being in a spot suspended between previous and future. The venue’s seemingly motionless dinosaur skeleton exterior hides an enormous work in progress as the entire stadium is being modernized for 2026 World Cup.
On March 26, 2026, a pleasant match between Mexico and Portugal will function a gown rehearsal for the June 11 inaugural ceremony and subsequent first World Cup match.
How the Azteca Is Remodeled
The icon of Mexican soccer is present process an unprecedented metamorphosis. Renovations to Azteca Stadium, important to its standing as a chosen venue for 5 matches, are of their most crucial and visual part.
The aim is to modernize the Colossus to satisfy probably the most demanding worldwide requirements, enhancing the spectator expertise and the performance of the ability whereas sustaining its historic soul.
The present state is that of a development website in full swing. The stands, utterly empty and devoid of their signature indicators and colours, reveal the grey of concrete and scaffolding. The empty bleachers, lit by the white lights of a development website, are enlivened solely by groups of technicians and engineers working day and evening. The sphere, the guts of the stadium, is now a sea of grime and dust, the place heavy equipment works to degree and reinstall the drainage system and put within the state-of-the-art hybrid floor that mixes pure grass with superior air flow, drainage, and air injection methods.
The Architectural Design
The stadium could also be new inside, however the exterior is retaining its figuring out options. The principle construction of the stadium has solely been strengthened, however not considerably altered. Nonetheless, the upgrades do embody some flash. The outside might be embellished with LED banners mounted on the attribute columns and cross beams that can improve the looks of the stadium and permit for colourful choreographed gentle reveals.
From the sector degree, the most important change is instantly noticeable: The brand new metallic and glass ring roof is sort of full and can shield a lot of the stands. “We did not need to erase the unique silhouette,” a staff engineer explains, “however to replace it with lighter supplies that may higher stand up to the local weather and combine photovoltaic methods invisible to the bare eye.”
The challenge—by KMD Arquitectos in collaboration with Populous—utterly renovates {the electrical}, water, and air flow methods, and contains the set up of a wise power administration system. It additionally introduces new FIFA evacuation requirements. Whereas the official capability of the Azteca is about 83,000, the renovations would take the ability nearer to 90,000 seats, though neither the federal government nor FIFA has confirmed the ultimate quantity. For certain, it should transform the expertise: particular person ergonomic seats substitute lots of the previous seats, rising house and luxury for each spectator. Accessibility and sight strains for followers have been optimized because of a revised bleacher structure.
