Estadio Azteca (Estadio Banorte)

Construction began in 1961, and the stadium opened on May 29, 1966, at a cost of 260 million pesos. Renovations followed in 1986, 1999, 2013, 2016, and between 2024 and 2026.

The name changed several times: Estadio Guillermo Cañedo between 1997 and 1998, then back to Azteca, and since 2025 Estadio Banorte. During the 2026 World Cup, it will bear the neutral name Estadio Ciudad de México.

The design is by the Mexican architects Pedro Ramírez Vázquez and Rafael Mijares Alcérreca. The pitch measures 105 by 68 metres and the stadium has 856 skyboxes.

Its location at 2,241 metres above sea level makes the altitude a factor in itself: visiting athletes notice the thin air.

With 87,523 seats this is the largest stadium in Latin America and the eighth-largest football stadium in the world. At previous World Cups, the capacity was even higher: 107,247 in 1970 and 114,600 in 1986.

The record attendance for a football match stands at 119,853 spectators for Mexico versus Brazil in 1968.

At February 20, 1993 Julio César Chávez and Greg Haugen fought here in front of 132,247 spectators, the highest attendance ever at a boxing match and to this day the stadium record.

The stadium is known as the cathedral of football and was the first to host two World Cup finals: Brazil versus Italy in 1970 and Argentina versus West Germany in 1986.

Here, Diego Maradona scored against England in 1986 both the Hand of God and the goal of the century.