Estadio Víctor Manuel Reyna, Mexican football stadium
Estadio Víctor Manuel Reyna is a soccer venue in Tuxtla Gutiérrez with a natural grass field surrounded by multi-tiered stands in dark seating. The facility includes locker rooms, parking for over 1,000 vehicles, and an automated watering system to maintain the grass in the hot and humid climate.
Built in 1982 under the Plan Chiapas for 6,000 spectators, the stadium was inaugurated on 27 December 1983 with a friendly between Estudiantes de Chiapas and Club América; the first goal was a diving header by Martín Cañaveral Interiano. It was later expanded, and in 2014 the stands were enlarged and a semi-enclosing green metal structure with the club crest was added outside. It hosted Copa Libertadores matches in 2011 and a visit by Pope Francis in 2016.
The stadium is named after Víctor Manuel Reyna Aguilar (1910–1973), a physical education teacher in Tuxtla Gutiérrez who founded the city's and the state's first football leagues in the 1950s. He spent much of his salary equipping street children to play, and is called the father of football in Chiapas. The nickname Zoque refers to the region's indigenous Zoque people.
The stadium is easily reached by car or public transport via Prolongación Artículo 115 in central Tuxtla Gutiérrez. Ample parking is available and the venue connects to the city's main roads, making arrival and departure straightforward on match days and during events.
The stadium is nicknamed "La Selva del Jaguar" (the Jaguar's Jungle) and "Selva Chiapaneca". Its first goal was a diving header scored by Martín Cañaveral Interiano, a forward for the now-defunct Estudiantes de Chiapas, in the inaugural match against Club América. In 2016 Pope Francis visited and addressed families here.
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