Palacio de los Deportes
Palacio de los Deportes (English: Sports Palace) is an indoor arena located in Mexico City, Mexico. It is within the Magdalena Mixhuca Sports City complex, near the Mexico City International Airport and in front of the Foro Sol, in which sports and artistic events are also celebrated. It is operated by Grupo CIE. The palace is named after Mexican military official Juan Escutia, although it is rarely referred to in its full name.
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 Exterior shot of Palacio de los Deportes | |
| Location | Mexico City, Mexico |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 19°24′19″N 99°5′59″W |
| Owner | Mexico City's Government |
| Operator | Grupo CIE |
| Capacity | 20,000 (arena) 26,000 (concert hall) |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | October 15, 1966 |
| Built | September 1968 |
| Opened | October 8, 1968 |
| Architect |
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| Tenants | |
| Mexico City Aztecas (CBA) (1994–1995) Mexico Toros (CISL) (1995) | |
The stadium was constructed for the 1968 Summer Olympics and opened in 1968. The arena currently has 17,800 seats and can be expanded for more for non-sports events.
Construction
The Palacio de los Deportes was constructed specifically for the Olympic basketball competition. However, the Palacio was designed for a wide variety of programming: boxing, wrestling, weightlifting, fencing, etc., as well as for exhibitions, and tournaments that require more space, such as volleyball, basketball, ice hockey, cycling, athletic meets, equestrian shows, dances, circuses, conventions and expositions. There is also a smaller pavilion for expositions and concerts.
The Palacio was constructed 14 miles (23 km) from the Olympic Village and 6.5 from downtown Mexico City in the Magdalena Mixhuca Sports City near the conflux of two expressways (Miguel Alemán Viaduct and Río Churubusco Interior Loop). It was built by the company ICA between October 15, 1966, and September 13, 1968, and finished construction just in time for the Olympics. The Palacio is circular in design with a square-patterned dome spanning 380 feet (120 m) and enclosing an area of 6.7 acres (27,000 m2). The dome consists of hyperbolic paraboloids of tubular aluminum covered with waterproof copper-sheathed plywood and supported by huge steel arches. The Palacio originally seated 22,370, including 7,370 in removable seats. There was parking space for 3,864 vehicles. The structure was designed by architects Félix Candela, Enrique Castañeda Tamborel and Antonio Peyri. It has three floors, which house complete facilities for athletes, judges, officials, organizers, as well as services for radio, television and the press. A mezzanine provides access to the boxes and middle and upper stands.
The structure underwent a series of modifications in the 1990s to adjust the acoustic profile of the structure. Earlier, the facility had acquired the derisive nickname of "Palacio de los rebotes" (Palace of Reverberations) due to the way sound bounced around and echoed in it, a major problem for music concerts scheduled at the arena, and a drawback even for sports events. Various adjustments were made to compensate for these acoustic problems.[1][2]
Events
The venue opened on October 8, 1968, with a performance by Maurice Béjart's Ballet of the 20th Century.[3]
Sports
The Palacio hosted the Mexico City Olympic Games for the 1968 basketball competition; it was also one of the three venues for the 1968 volleyball competition. It was the home of the CBA Mexico City Aztecas (basketball) in 1994 and 1995, and the Mexico Toros of the CISL (indoor soccer) in 1995. On December 6, 1997, it hosted the NBA's regular season game between the Houston Rockets and the Dallas Mavericks, which ended with a 108–106 score.[4]
Both the FIBA 1989 Tournament of the Americas and the 2015 FIBA Americas Championship were held at the Palace.[5]
Concerts
A common use of the Palace is to host big expositions and rock or pop concerts. There have been more than 400 concerts held here throughout the years; a curated list of some of the most important ones is below.
References
- Pacho, José Luis Paredes (1992). Rock mexicano: sonidos de la calle (in Spanish). Pesebre. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
- "A 50 años del Palacio de los Deportes, recordamos estos conciertos épicos". Bring My Noise (in Spanish). October 9, 2018. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
- "Palacio de los Deportes, legado de los Olímpicos del 68". El Financiero. October 10, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
- "In Mexico, Rockets Edge Mavs". December 7, 1997. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
- PR N°51 - Venezuela win 2015 FIBA Americas Championship for first-ever continental title
External links
- Homepage
- 1968 Summer Olympics official report. Archived November 18, 2008, at the Wayback Machine Volume 2. Part 1. p. 72.
- Luis Castañeda, "Image-Machine: Félix Candela's Palacio de los Deportes", article in Pidgin Magazine
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