<\/p>\n

Key facts<\/h3>\n

Club: Club Am\u00e9rica | Opening: 1966 | Capacity: 84,000 seats<\/p>\n

History and description<\/h3>\n

Estadio Azteca was built in the 1960s to accommodate the growing support of Club America and to provide Mexico with a flagship venue for the upcoming 1970 World Cup.<\/p>\n

Estadio Azteca got designed by architect Pedro Ram\u00edrez V\u00e1zquez after a careful study of the most famous European stadiums of that time. Construction of the stadium, which took a total of 4 years, was not easy due to the hard volcanic rock the land consisted of.<\/p>\n

Estadio Azteca officially opened on 29 May 1966 with a friendly match between America and Italian side Torino (2-2).<\/p>\n

During the 1970 World Cup, it hosted a total of 10 matches, among which a semi-final and the final between Brazil and Italy (4-1).<\/p>\n

Sixteen years later, Estadio Azteca again hosted a World Cup final, and until 2014 it had been the only stadium to host two World Cup finals (now sharing the honour with Maracana<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The stadium had received a small refurbishment before the start of the World Cup, and went on to host 9 matches, among which the famous quarter-final between Argentina and England (2-1), a semi-final, and the final between Argentina and Germany (3-2).<\/p>\n

In the following decades, safety measures brought back capacity from 115,000 in 1986 to around 100,000 in the 2000s. In 2016, the stadium underwent a large refurbishment including the addition of VIP facilities, which reduced capacity to 84,000 seats.<\/p>\n

In 2018, Cruz Azul moved back into Estadio Azteca, having also had it as its home in the 70s and 80s, leaving Estadio Azul<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The stadium is also a regular playing venue for the Mexican national team, and for years was the home of Necaxa before they moved to Aguacalientes.<\/p>\n

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