Plans have been outlined for a new football and baseball stadium in the Mexican city of Mérida.
The stadium will have a capacity of 23,000 for baseball matches and 27,000 for football fixtures. This will be expandable to 32,000 for music concerts and the venue would also be able to host other sports such as boxing and tennis.
The stadium would serve as the home of the Venados de Mérida football club and the Leones de Yucatán baseball team. It is hoped that the venue will open in 2023.
Mérida is located in the state of Yucatán, the site where the Mesoamerican ball game – considered the oldest sport in the world – originated more than 3,400 years ago.
The stadium, which will be known as Estadio Sostenible de Yucatán, will be delivered by New York-based Juego de Pelota Inc. The venue will be inspired by Mayan culture, with the wider stadium complex to include a shopping centre, hotel, restaurants and museum.
According to the Leones, the stadium will be the first in Mexico to achieve the LEED Platinum certificate, which recognises eco-friendly practices. The project is estimated to cost MXN2.2bn (£80.4m/€87m/$103.2m).
It is hoped that the Populous-designed stadium can host Major League Baseball games and the venue is also set to comply with FIFA’s standards required to stage national team football matches.
Yucatán Governor Mauricio Vila Dosal said: “We are facing a world-class construction project that will generate more than four thousand jobs during its construction phase and when it begins to operate it will generate more than a thousand permanent jobs.”
Image: Leones de Yucatán
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