Estadio Akron, Football stadium in Zapopan, Mexico
Estadio Akron is a football stadium in Zapopan, west of Guadalajara, home of Club Deportivo Guadalajara. Its broad white roof rests on cylindrical columns above a curved green berm planted with oaks, and the facade carries the lettering "Estadio AKRON". The bowl seats 49,850 spectators, with the roof structure weighing 3,300 tonnes and standing 41 m above the pitch.
C.D. Guadalajara announced in February 2004 that it would build its own ground and leave Estadio Jalisco, but construction only began on 9 May 2007. The stadium was completed on 29 July 2010 and opened with a friendly against Manchester United on 30 July, won 3-2 by Guadalajara, with Javier "Chicharito" Hernández scoring the first goal before switching sides at half-time to seal his transfer. It hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2011 Pan American Games and was renamed Estadio Akron in December 2017 under a ten-year sponsorship deal.
Supporters call the ground "la casa del rebaño," a name tied to the team's animal emblem. On match days the stands turn red and white as fans chant traditional songs from the region.
The main pedestrian entrance is a covered atrium of 34,000 m² with food and drink services, a cinema, a children's area, a climbing wall, a beauty salon and the official Chivas store. Access is planned from the Periférico ring road at its junction with Avenida Vallarta, west of Guadalajara. A 780-space underground car park with five lifts serves box holders.
After the opening, teams initially played on artificial turf, but natural grass replaced it in 2012. The change came after players who competed at the ground expressed their preference for a real surface.
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