Palacio de los Deportes () is an

indoor arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...

located in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. It is within the

Magdalena Mixhuca Sports City The Magdalena Mixhuca Sports City is an Olympic Park which was used during the 1968 Summer Olympics. Found in the area of Mexico City known as the Magdalena Mixhuca, the park continues to serve as a venue for cultural, social, worship and sport e ...

complex, near the

Mexico City International Airport Mexico City International Airport (); officially ''Aeropuerto Internacional Benito Juárez'' (Benito Juárez International Airport) is the primary international airport serving Greater Mexico City. It is the List of the busiest airports in Me ...

and in front of the Estadio GNP Seguros, in which sports and artistic events are also celebrated. It is operated by

Grupo CIE Grupo CIE (Corporacion Interamericana de Entretenimiento. Spanish for: Interamerican Entertainment Corporation) is a Mexican entertainment and media company. It is leader of Latin American entertainment sector, focusing especially on the markets ...

. The palace is named after Mexican military official

Juan Escutia ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. The name is of Hebrew origin and has the meaning "God has been gracious." It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking countries around the world and in the Philippi ...

, although it is rarely referred to in its full name. The stadium was constructed for the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

and opened in 1968. The arena currently has 17,800 seats and can be expanded for more for non-sports events.

Construction

The was constructed specifically for the basketball tournament during the

. However, the was designed to be a multipurpose arena. There is also a smaller pavilion on complex for expositions and concerts. The was constructed from the Olympic Village and 6.5 from downtown Mexico City in the Magdalena Mixhuca Sports City near the conflux of two expressways ( Miguel Alemán Viaduct and Río Churubusco Interior Loop). It was built by the company ICA between October 15, 1966, and September 13, 1968, and finished construction one month before the Olympics. The is circular in design with a square-patterned dome spanning and enclosing an area of . The dome consists of hyperbolic paraboloids of tubular aluminum covered with waterproof copper-sheathed plywood and supported by huge steel arches. The originally seated 22,370, including 7,370 in removable seats. There was also a parking space for 3,864 vehicles. The structure was designed by architects

Félix Candela Félix Candela Outeriño (; January 27, 1910 – December 7, 1997) was a Spanish and Mexican architect who was born in Madrid and at the age of 26, emigrated to Mexico, acquiring double nationality. He is known for his significant ...

, Enrique Castañeda Tamborel and Antonio Peyri. It has three floors, which house complete facilities for athletes, judges, officials, organizers, as well as services for radio, television and the press. A mezzanine provides access to the boxes and middle and upper stands. The structure underwent a series of modifications during the 1990s to adjust the acoustic profile of the structure. Earlier, the facility had acquired the derisive nickname of "Palacio de los rebotes" (Palace of

Reverberation In acoustics, reverberation (commonly shortened to reverb) is a persistence of sound after it is produced. It is often created when a sound is reflection (physics), reflected on surfaces, causing multiple reflections that build up and then de ...

s) due to the way sound bounced around and echoed in it, a major problem for music concerts scheduled at the arena, and a drawback even for sports events. Various adjustments were made to compensate for these acoustic problems.

Events

The venue opened on October 8, 1968, with a performance by

Maurice Béjart Maurice Béjart (; 1 January 1927 – 22 November 2007) was a French dancer, choreographer and Theatre director, opera director who ran the Béjart Ballet Lausanne in Switzerland. He developed a popular expressionistic form of modern ballet, tac ...

Ballet of the 20th Century Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

Sports

The hosted the basketball tournament during the 1968 Summer Olympics; it was also the main venue of the volleyball tournament. It was the home of the CBA

Mexico City Aztecas The Mexico Aztecas (or ''Mexico City Aztecs'', ''Aztecas de México'') were a professional basketball team in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA). Created as an experiment in fielding a team outside the United States and Canada, it played ...

(basketball) in 1994 and 1995, and the Mexico Toros of the CISL (indoor soccer) in 1995. On December 6, 1997, it hosted the NBA's regular season game between the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

and the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

, which ended with a 108–106 score. Both the FIBA

1989 Tournament of the Americas The 1989 Tournament of the Americas, later known as the FIBA Americas Championship and the FIBA AmeriCup, was a basketball championship hosted by Mexico from June 8 to June 18, 1989. The games were played in Mexico City. This FIBA AmeriCup was ...

and the

2015 FIBA Americas Championship The 2015 FIBA Americas Championship for Men, later known as the FIBA AmeriCup, was the FIBA Americas qualifying tournament for the 2016 Summer Olympics, in Brazil. This FIBA AmeriCup tournament was held in Mexico City, Mexico. The tournament wa ...

were held at the Palace.PR N°51 - Venezuela win 2015 FIBA Americas Championship for first-ever continental title
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Concerts

A common use of the Palace is to host big expositions and rock or pop concerts. There have been more than 400 concerts held here throughout the years; a curated list of some of the most important ones is below.

References

External links

Homepage1968 Summer Olympics official report.
Volume 2. Part 1. p. 72.
Luis Castañeda, "Image-Machine: Félix Candela's Palacio de los Deportes", article in Pidgin Magazine
{{Authority control Indoor arenas in Mexico Sports venues in Mexico City Venues of the 1968 Summer Olympics Olympic basketball venues Olympic volleyball venues Dallas Mavericks Houston Rockets Basketball venues in Mexico Volleyball venues in Mexico Sports venues completed in 1968 Félix Candela buildings 1968 establishments in Mexico *