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Tigres UANL seals deal for 65,000-seat stadium

Liga MX football club Tigres UANL has concluded long-running efforts to draw up a new home with the announcement that a 65,000-seat stadium will be delivered in 2025.

Tigres, which is based in the city of San Nicolás de los Garza, Nuevo León, has long been seeking a deal to build a new stadium that could replace the 42,000-seat Estadio Universitario, its home since 1967.

The new Estadio de los Tigres was presented yesterday (Thursday) at a gathering that included Governor of Nuevo León, Samuel García, through a Memorandum of Understanding to commence construction.

Designed by architecture firm Populous and envisioned to be entirely privately financed at a cost of $320m (£233.1m/€279.3m), the stadium will feature a retractable pitch enhancing its multi-purpose goal. Major concerts are being targeted for the venue, along with NFL American football games.

The stadium will feature separate changing rooms for Tigres’ men’s and women’s teams, while the wider complex will include a hotel, shopping centre and restaurants. The stadium is also intended to act as an incubator for local business, while it will feature classrooms for the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León (UANL).

“There is going to be another setting for concerts and sport,” said César Esparza, principal partner of Juego de Pelota, which will participate in the construction of the stadium. “It is a stadium prepared to host all sports, this stadium will be the postcard of Nuevo León.”

Esparza stated that Estadio de los Tigres’ enhanced capacity when compared to the club’s current home will allow for reduced ticket prices. He added: “It will not happen that the new stadium will be expensive, if it has that capacity it will allow us to create different price levels for events, becoming inclusive for all people.”

Commenting on the plans revealed yesterday, Mauricio Doehner, a member of the club’s parent company Sinergia Deportiva, said: “Today Tigres is internationally recognised and we are always striving for more. 

“Of course we deserve a new stadium, it will be the headquarters in this new era. Today, Tigres is not only a benchmark in Mexican soccer, but also in the international one. The Estadio Universitario has given greatness to Club Tigres and all the fans, we will honour it forever.”

Image: Tigres UANL