Location | AV. Insurgentes Sur S/N, Col. Ciudad Universitaria CP: 43000, Coyoacán, Distrito Federal |
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Owner | Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México |
Operator | UNAM |
Capacity | 52,000 |
Field size | 105 x 68 m |
Surface | Grass |
Construction | |
Broke ground | August 7, 1950 |
Opened | November 20, 1952 |
Architect | Augusto Perez Palacios Jorge Bravo Raul Salinas |
Tenants | |
Pumas UNAM (1952-Present) Pumas Dorados de la UNAM (ONEFA) (1952-Present) América (1955–1966) Necaxa (1955–1966) Atlante (1957–1966) Mexico national football team (1956-1966) 1968 Summer Olympics 1986 FIFA World Cup |
Estadio Olímpico Universitario is a multi-purpose stadium located in Ciudad Universitaria, Mexico City. It was built in 1952 and at that time was the largest stadium in Mexico. This stadium has a capacity of 48,297. The first major event held in the stadium was the 1955 Pan American Games. During the 1950s and the 1960s this stadium was used mostly for college American football matches between the largest Mexican public universities at the time: UNAM and IPN. From the late 1950s it was used for football matches, some American football matches and athletics contests. It was named by Frank Lloyd Wright "the most important building in the modern America".
The Olímpico Universitario hosted the 1968 Summer Olympics; for the event the seating capacity was increased from 70,000 to 83,700 spectators (without substantially modifying the original structure) to cover the IOC requirements for an Olympic stadium. It was the location of the track & field competitions, equestrian events, certain association football matches, the arrival of the marathon and the opening & closing ceremonies. This was the Olympics in which Tommie Smith and John Carlos protested against the treatment of black people in the United States by performing a black power salute during the medal ceremony for the 200m. The stadium also hosted several games of the 1986 FIFA World Cup, but the final match was played in the bigger Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.