Featured image credit: Populous
The Governor of Nuevo León, Samuel Alejandro García Sepúlveda, has said work is ready to begin on the 65,000-seat stadium that will be the new home of Liga MX football club Tigres UANL after signing an agreement for the land on which the venue will be built.
García Sepúlveda said a 210,000 square metre site has been assigned for the project, which is expected to cost MXN8.2bn (£358.3m/€400.2m/$434.6m) to develop.
“We are ready to send Congress the loan of the property where it will be housed, so that we can invest 8.2 billion pesos and achieve this great project,” said García Sepúlveda. “It is signed and sent to the State Congress, which today (Wednesday) begins the new constitutional period, so that everything is legally approved and we can formally begin the construction of the new stadium of the Tigres.”
The latest news comes just over a year after architecture firm Populous said it would deliver a stadium that will “hold a special place in the hearts of the fans” after officially announcing its involvement in the project.
Plans for the 65,000-seat stadium, which had been due to be delivered in 2025, were first unveiled at a press conference earlier in January 2022, with García Sepúlveda in attendance alongside representatives of the club, Populous, Cemex, UANL, Sinergia Deportiva and Juego de Pelota.
Populous’ multi-use design features separate changing rooms for Tigres’ men’s and women’s teams and a retractable pitch that will allow a range of events to be hosted, from football and athletics to concerts and American football.
Speaking this week, García Sepúlveda stated it could become the most modern stadium in Latin America with the capability of hosting one or two NFL games per year. The privately-funded scheme also incorporates retail, hospitality, hotel rooms, offices, and classrooms for the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León (UANL) in an effort to facilitate year-round usage and create a socially responsible and financially sustainable venue.
The new stadium will be located on a site close to Tigres’ current home, Estadio Universitario, meaning the club will not need to relocate during construction and will retain its position at the university with direct transport links to the downtown area.
García Sepúlveda added that he now expects the stadium to be completed in 2026, when Mexico co-hosts the FIFA World Cup with the United States and Canada. In June, Mexico’s host cities and venues for the World Cup were announced as Guadalajara (Estadio Akron), Mexico City (Estadio Azteca) and Monterrey (Estadio BBVA Bancomer).
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.
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