Azteca Stadium to feature hybrid field, modern amenities for 2026 World Cup
MEXICO CITY (AP) — A hybrid field, updated locker rooms, elevators and hospitality zones are among the new features of Azteca Stadium for the 2026 World Cup, the owners said Wednesday.
Sports entertainment company Ollamani also confirmed the stadium will reopen March 28, which will be 75 days before the start of the World Cup as Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada announced recently.
Advertisement
'The centerpiece of the stadium's renovation is the people who visit it. Our main objective is to substantially improve their experience in every way,' stadium director Felix Aguirre said in a statement.
The iconic venue closed last May for renovations ahead of next year's 48-team competition hosted by Mexico, the United States and Canada.
The 83,000-seat Azteca, which recently was renamed, will host five games including the tournament opener. It also hosted the first matches in the 1971 and 1986 World Cups.
Ollamani, which is affiliated with Grupo Televisa, Mexico's largest television network, also said the stadium will have bigger capacity, but did not specify how many extra seats it will have.
Advertisement
It will be the second time that Azteca has a hybrid pitch — one was installed in 2018 but returned to natural grass a year later. The poor field conditions in November 2018 forced a last-minute change of venue for an NFL game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Rams.
'The pitch, being subjected to intensive use, will have a new ventilation and suction system, thereby achieving better recovery, stability and resistance,' Ollamani said in a statement.
The new locker rooms will be located at the center of the stadium under the luxury boxes and with a tunnel leading to the pitch. Before, they were located in the north and south part of it.
'The project includes new facilities in the competition areas, improving the experience of the player, fans and media in line with the most modern stadiums in the world," the company said.
Advertisement
The plan includes installing large LED screens inside and outside the stadium. Before the renovations, the stadium had just two big screens that were installed in 2015.
Ollamani did not provided specific details about elevators or escalators. In the past, the only way to move between the lower and upper sections was using an old ramp.
The hospitality zones were also a necessity. The old stadium had a small concession area outside the venue, but inside there were no food courts and the fans were forced to buy from the vendors roaming the seating area.
Among other renovations, the stadium owners also announced a new press box area, improved restrooms, a 200-unit CCTV surveillance system and a new sound system.
Advertisement
Originally, a major renovation was planned including a shopping center and hotel, but residents of Santa Úrsula, a popular neighborhood located south of the capital, opposed them.
Ollamani said that the facade and the roof will be renovated 'to improve the stadium appearance without losing its essence.'
Earlier in the year, the owners released images of work done on the pitch and the lower seats. The luxury boxes apparently haven't been touched because some owners refuse to release them to FIFA.
The box owners recently filed a complaint with Mexico's consumer protection agency seeking clarity over use of the seating for the 2026 World Cup.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Mi Hyang Lee shoots an 8-under 64 to take a 1-shot lead in the Meijer LPGA Classic
BELMONT, Mich. (AP) — Mi Hyang Lee of South Korea played a six-hole stretch in 6 under and shot an 8-under 64 on Thursday to take the first-round lead in the Meijer LPGA Classic. Grace Kim of Australia was a shot back, a year after losing to Lilia Vu in a playoff that also included 2015 champion Lexi Thompson. Advertisement Fellow Australian Karis Davidson, Akie Iwai of Japan and Sofia Garcia of Paraguay were two strokes behind at 66 in the final event before the major KPMG Women's PGA Championship next week in Texas. Only three of the top 10 in the world are at Blythefield County Club, with Haeran Ryu the highest-ranked player at No. 5. She shot a 69 in the afternoon. Playing in the morning on the tree-lined course, Lee birdied Nos. 5-8, parred the ninth and eagled the 10th after surprising herself by reaching the green in two on the par-5 hole. 'I didn't expect I can hit the green there for my second shot," Lee said. 'But it was a great line and good hit with the 3-wood and I made the green. It was almost 24 feet, like right-to left-eagle putt. I didn't expect to make it.' Advertisement The 32-year-old player capped the bogey-free round with birdies on Nos. 14 and 17. She won the last of her two LPGA Tour titles in 2017. 'I missed only two fairways," Lee said. 'I think that's a lot of help to hit the greens a lot, too.' Kim chipped in for eagle on 10 and for birdie on 11 in her morning round. 'That was a good start to the back nine,' Kim said. 'Just kind of saved pars early and then loosened up as we went on. That was quite nice.' She won the 2023 LOTTE Championship for her lone tour title. The 22-year-old Iwai made five birdies in a seven-hole stretch from the eighth to the 14th, then rebounded from a bogey on 17 with a birdie on 18. Advertisement Her twin sister, Chisato won in Mexico in May for her first LPGA Tour title. Chisato Iwai opened with a 73. Minjee Lee was at 67 with Caley McGinty, Ruixin Liu, Andrea Lee, Gabriela Ruffels and Jiwon Jeon. Andrea Lee was the only U.S. player in the top 11. Thompson shot a 68. Vu had a 77. ___ AP golf:
Hamilton Spectator
31 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Bad news for Adekugbe. Injury on Canada duty diagnosed as torn Achilles tendon
Vancouver Whitecaps defender Sam Adekugbe tore his Achilles tendon with Canada at the Canadian Shield Tournament and has been replaced by Sporting Kansas City's Zorhan Bassong on Jesse Marsch's CONCACAF Gold Cup roster. Adekugbe had to be helped off the field after going down with an apparent non-contact injury in the 81st minute of the penalty shootout loss to Ivory Coast on Tuesday at Toronto's BMO Field. In announcing the injury news Thursday, Canada Soccer said Adekugbe has returned to the Whitecaps 'who will determine next steps along with the player.' Canada, ranked 30th in the world, opens Gold Cup play Tuesday against No. 75 Honduras in Vancouver before heading to Houston to face No. 90 Curaçao and No. 81 El Salvador. It's the latest injury setback for the 30-year-old Adekugbe, who has won 43 caps for Canada and was part of the 2022 World Cup squad. He left the Whitecaps' March 2 game against the Los Angeles Galaxy with a leg injury, missing the next 12 games until returning April 27 against Minnesota. Adekugbe, who returned to the Whitecaps in 2023, had previously been sidelined by sidelined by calf and knee problems. 'Sam has demonstrated tremendous dedication and resilience in his journey back to full fitness, which makes this setback even more heartbreaking,' Whitecaps sporting director Axel Schuster said in a statement Thursday. 'He'll need time to process this moment, and throughout his recovery, he'll have the unwavering support of everyone at the club. 'Sam is part of our family, and we're all behind him as he begins his road to recovery.' Adekugbe has scored three goals in 12 appearances for Vancouver across all competitions this year. Adekugbe came back to Canada after escaping earthquake-ravaged Antakya in Turkey, where he had been playing for Hatayspor. He joined the Turkish Super Lig team in June 2021 from Norway's Valerenga Fotball. Born in London, England, he was three when his family moved to Manchester and 10 when it came to Calgary. At 16, he moved to Vancouver to join the Whitecaps residency program. He signed a homegrown contract with the MLS team in 2013 but made just 16 appearances for the team over the next four seasons, spending much of the time out on loan. Adekugbe had loans stints with Brighton in the English Championship and Sweden's IFK Goteborg before joining Valerenga in January 2018. —- This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 12, 2025
Yahoo
44 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Regional airports say they haven't been contacted about anticipated influx of flyers for World Cup
We're one year away from the FIFA World Cup matches here in Atlanta. Fans will come in from all over the world, and while most will fly commercial, many will come in on corporate or executive jets. The Metro Atlanta Chamber said nearly 1,600 private jets flew into metro Atlanta for the Super Bowl. Considering each one of these matches is a potential Super Bowl, those jets have to get parked somewhere. But so far, the airports around metro Atlanta say they haven't heard of a plan. Matthew Smith is not only the airport division director for Gwinnett County's Briscoe Field, he's also the president of the Georgia Airport Association. He's anticipating corporate and executive jets will fly into metro Atlanta for the big FIFA World Cup matches. TRENDING STORIES: Metro Atlanta parents 'made a dumb decision' by giving 1-year-old beer, report says SCOTUS rules on lawsuit from Atlanta family whose home was wrongly raided by the FBI Family finds someone else buried alongside their loved one in southwest GA cemetery 'Those jets have to go somewhere,' Smith told Channel 2's Richard Elliot. 'We can handle quite a bit. During the Super Bowl, we had well over 50 jets here.' The major regional airports in the Atlanta area include Fulton's Charlie Brown, DeKalb's PDK, Cobb's McCollum, Gwinnett's Briscoe and the Atlanta Speedway's airport. Smith said, so far, the Atlanta World Cup Hosting Committee hasn't reached out to any of them, but he expects they will. 'I'm sure at some point they'll include us just to make sure we have the capacity to handle what they expect to come in on the private side,' Smith said. Hartsfield-Jackson said it's prepared to handle some through signature and private suites, but any overflow would have to go elsewhere. Cobb's McCollum Field right now said it's more focused on handling flights for this summer's MLB All-Star game than the World Cup, but they added, 'Airport management is currently working with local, state and federal partners to coordinate planning efforts for the upcoming significant special events.' Smith said the regional airports are standing by to help. 'We've handled things like this before. We've had the Super Bowl. We've had the Olympics. We've had the NCAA Finals, and you know, football championships here. So, it's not something we're not used to. We typically can handle it with existing personnel and operations,' Smith said. Smith said Cobb, DeKalb and Fulton County's regional airports all have customs agents if needed.
