{"id":14568,"date":"2025-11-20T18:56:28","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T18:56:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/20\/the-soul-of-azteca-stadium-will-be-preserved-during-world-cup-renovations\/"},"modified":"2025-11-20T18:56:28","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T18:56:28","slug":"the-soul-of-azteca-stadium-will-be-preserved-during-world-cup-renovations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/20\/the-soul-of-azteca-stadium-will-be-preserved-during-world-cup-renovations\/","title":{"rendered":"The soul of Azteca Stadium will be preserved during World Cup renovations"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>MEXICO CITY (AP) &#8211; When FIFA President Gianni Infantino visited Mexico City more than three years ago, the owner of Azteca Stadium told him about renovating the stadium. <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\">2026 world cup<\/span> I had no intention of ruining the soul of the iconic venue.<\/p>\n<p>Emilio Azc\u00e1rraga Jean is keeping his word.<\/p>\n<p>Latin America&#8217;s largest stadium has added more seats, more video screens, new lighting and locker rooms, a new entrance to the new hybrid pitch, and a new sound system with more than 340 speakers.<\/p>\n<p>Official computer renderings obtained by The Associated Press show that general audiences will notice upgrades while preserving the main features of the 59-year-old venue.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It was very important to preserve that spirit,&#8221; stadium director Felix Aguirre told The Associated Press. \u201cSoul is the essence of the stadium and what we all come to enjoy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Azteca is where Pele won his last World Cup in 1970, and where Diego Maradona won it all in 1986.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We all have fond memories of Azteca Stadium in our lives,&#8221; said Coach Aguirre. \u201cThat&#8217;s why we, guided by Mr. Azcarraga&#8217;s vision, embarked on this renovation with the future of the stadium in mind, preserving the soul of the stadium and the emotions it evokes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mexico co-hosts the World Cup with the United States and Canada. Azteca will be the first stadium to host the opening game of the World Cup for the third time on June 11 next year. The Aztecs will host a total of five games, including two playoff games.<\/p>\n<p>Before its doors close in 2024, Azteca had a seating capacity of 83,000. That number could rise to 87,000, but Aguirre said the actual number is still being determined.<\/p>\n<p>They are returning to a hybrid pitch. One was installed in 2018, <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\">poor field conditions<\/span> A last-minute venue change for the NFL game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams was forced. Natural grass was installed the following year. The new pitch will have new ventilation and drainage to withstand the heavy rains common in Mexico City.<\/p>\n<p>The leaking roof was repaired and the locker rooms were moved to the center of the stadium, making them larger to accommodate NFL teams. The last NFL game was held in 2022.<\/p>\n<p>The stadium&#8217;s Wi-Fi, which often crashes during packed games, was also expected to be improved.<\/p>\n<p>stadium, <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\">Sponsored by Banorte<\/span> To fund the latest renovations, <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\">Reopening in March<\/span> Friendly match between Mexico and Portugal. But Aguirre said he is working to be ready on February 28th.<\/p>\n<p>Director Aguirre said, &#8220;Construction is progressing as planned and we are working hard.&#8221; \u201cWe hope our fans can come and enjoy the great moments.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>___<\/p>\n<p>AP Soccer: <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\">https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/soccer<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/azteca-stadium-world-cup-45a630c7c0f8df587f156a31369d7b82\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>MEXICO CITY (AP) &#8211; When FIFA President Gianni Infantino visited Mexico City more than three years ago, the owner of Azteca Stadium told him about renovating the stadium. 2026 world cup I had no intention of ruining the soul of the iconic venue. Emilio Azc\u00e1rraga Jean is keeping his word. Latin America&#8217;s largest stadium has<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14569,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-14568","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-soccer"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The soul of Azteca Stadium will be preserved during World Cup renovations - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/20\/the-soul-of-azteca-stadium-will-be-preserved-during-world-cup-renovations\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The soul of Azteca Stadium will be preserved during World Cup renovations - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"MEXICO CITY (AP) &#8211; When FIFA President Gianni Infantino visited Mexico City more than three years ago, the owner of Azteca Stadium told him about renovating the stadium. 2026 world cup I had no intention of ruining the soul of the iconic venue. 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