The Estadio Akron, formerly known as the Estadio Omnilife and Estadio Chivas (''Estadio Chivas'', ), is a multipurpose stadium in

Zapopan Zapopan () is a city and municipality located in the Mexican state of Jalisco. Part of the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area, Zapopan is the largest city in the state. It's best known as the home of the Virgin of Zapopan, an image of the Virgin ...

, near

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...

, in the Mexican state of

Jalisco Jalisco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in western Mexico and is bordered by s ...

, that is used mostly for

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

matches. It is the home of

Liga MX Liga MX, also known as Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Mexico and the highest level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Liga Mayor (1943–1949) and also as Primera Divis ...

side C.D. Guadalajara. It is part of the JVC complex, and has a capacity of 49,813. Construction started in February 2004, but due to financial problems and other issues, the stadium's completion was delayed for a number of years. The stadium hosted its first major international event with the first leg of the 2010 Finals of the

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournam ...

, and hosted the

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games () and commonly known as Guadalajara 2011, were an international multi-sport event held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby c ...

opening Opening may refer to: Types of openings * Hole * A title sequence or opening credits * Grand opening of a business or other institution * Inauguration * Keynote * Opening sentence * Opening sequence * Opening statement, a beginning statemen ...

and closing ceremonies. The stadium's artificial field caused great controversy, drawing criticism from many notable players, and in May 2012, it was announced that the stadium would replace the artificial turf with natural grass. The stadium is also expected to host some matches for the

2026 FIFA World Cup The 2026 FIFA World Cup, marketed as FIFA World Cup 26, will be the 23rd FIFA World Cup, the Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international men's Association football, soccer championship contested by the List of men's n ...

History

In February 2004, C.D. Guadalajara announced that it would construct a new stadium of its own, intending to leave

Estadio Jalisco Jalisco Stadium is a football stadium located in Guadalajara, Mexico. It is the third-largest Mexican football stadium behind Estadio Azteca and Estadio Olímpico Universitario with a capacity of 56,713 spectators. History Estadio Jalisco w ...

. Construction on the stadium did not begin until May 2007. The third public football match at the stadium was a friendly between Guadalajara and

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

on 30 July 2010. Guadalajara won the game 3–2, with the first goal at the stadium scored by Javier "Chicharito" Hernández playing for Guadalajara. This match was held to represent Hernández's transfer from Guadalajara to Manchester United, with Hernández playing the first half for Guadalajara and switching sides to Manchester United in the second half, thus symbolically sealing his transfer contract that had been signed in March 2010. The stadium hosted 8 matches of the

2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup The 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup was the 14th edition of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, the biennial international men's youth association football, football championship contested by the under-17 national teams of the member associations of FIFA. It was h ...

, including a semifinal, between

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

and

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. It was also the venue of the opening and closing ceremonies of the

, where it also hosted all the matches of both men's and women's football tournament. In May 2012, following criticism regarding the artificial field, it was announced that the stadium would replace the artificial turf with natural grass. The replacement was complete by July. In December 2017, the stadium changed its name from Estadio Omnilife to Estadio Akron, after signing a sponsorship deal with a car lubricants firm for 10 years. The venue hosted the Canelo Álvarez vs. John Ryder boxing fight in 2023.

The Weeknd Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (; born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is best known for adding Pop music, pop, electronic music, electronic and hip-hop stylings ...

performed during his After Hours til Dawn Tour on 25 October 2023.

Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977) is a Colombian singer-songwriter. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Latin Music", she has had a Cultural impact of Shakira, significant impact on the ...

performed during her

Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour The Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour is the seventh ongoing concert tour by Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira, in support of her twelfth studio album, ''Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran'' (2024). The stadium tour commenced on 11 February 2025 at t ...

on 16 and 17 March 2025.

2026 FIFA World Cup

Estadio Akron will host matches during the

. During the event, the stadium will be temporarily renamed to "Estadio Guadalajara" in accordance with FIFA's policy on corporate sponsored names. The stadium will host four matches, all in the group stage, including Mexico's second game.

International matches

Mexico national football team

Images

References

External links

* {{2026 FIFA World Cup stadiums C.D. Guadalajara Football venues in Mexico Sports venues in Guadalajara, Jalisco Sports venues completed in 2010 Venues of the 2011 Pan American Games Pan American Games opening ceremony stadiums Zapopan 2010 establishments in Mexico