The Estadio Omnilife or Estadio Chivas, which is currently known as the Estadio Akron is a stadium primarily used for staging the football matches of the Mexican football club CD Guadalajara.
Estadio Omnilife stadium has a capacity of 49,850 and is the sixth largest stadium of Mexico. The stadium is located in the western suburb of Guadalajara known as Zapopan.
History
The construction works for the stadium started in February 2004, but was halted several times in its course due to insufficient funding. Initially, the budget for the stadium was fixed at $129 million. After the construction, the total costs exceeded the budget and reached $149m.
The stadium has a hill-like shape which makes it quite iconic. The VFO architects cast concrete shell on site which was covered with 70,000 m2 of glass to create a dynamic and fluid connection with the surrounding landscape. Hence, it was made quite like a volcano with a red crater of double tiered seating and the white cloud of the roof.
The stadium was officially opened on 30th July 2010 when the home side Chivas Guadalajara hosted English giants Manchester United.
Major Matches
The pre-season friendly between CD Guadalajara and Manchester United was one of the most important games hosted in the stadium. The game was eventually won by the home side 3-2. Home side’s departing striker Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez played the second half of the game for Manchester United, thus signifying his transfer to The Red Devils.
The first major international event held at the stadium was the first leg of the Copa Libertadores Finals in 2010. The match was played between the home side and Brazilian giants Internacional. Internacional won the game 2-1.
The stadium hosted the first semi-final of the 2011 FIFA U17 World Cup between Uruguay and Brazil. Uruguay eventually got the better of their South American rivals by 3-0. Altogether, Estadio Omnilife hosted eight matches in the tournament.
Controversies
In the initial years, the stadium had an artificial turf which invited criticism from all corners.
In 2012, the artificial turf was replaced after facing criticism from the fans and at the request of the newly appointed club advisor Johan Cruijff.
Recent Matches
CD Guadalajara lost their last two games hosted at the Estadio Chivas. The home side lost 1-2 to Atlas with Milton Caraglio scoring both the goals for Atlas.
The side also lost to Atlante on penalties after finishing 1-1 at the end of regulation time in a Copa MX game. The disappointing run of home form comes after successive victories over Atlas and Tijuana.
