Guadalajara, Jalisco · Capacity: 49,850
Chivas de Guadalajara's stunning 49,850-seat stadium, one of the most beautiful in the Americas. The volcanic rock-inspired design is breathtaking. Home to Mexico's most popular club and host of Liga MX finals, CONCACAF matches, and the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The clásico tapatío against Atlas here is electric.
Estadio Akron, opened in 2010 on the western edge of Guadalajara, is the home of Chivas — Club Deportivo Guadalajara, the most Mexican of Mexico's giants, famous for fielding only Mexican players. On June 18, 2026 it hosts Mexico against South Korea, one of two Guadalajara group matches for El Tri.
Guadalajara is the cradle of mariachi and the gateway to tequila country — the agave fields around the town of Tequila are a day trip away — with a gorgeous colonial centre and a fierce football soul.
Below are the Guadalajara stays, restaurants and bars fans use around Estadio Akron.
Estadio Akron is a host venue for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, staging 4 matches at a tournament capacity of 48,000. Hosts Mexico's second group match (vs South Korea) on June 18, 2026; one of two Mexican venues hosting Mexico's group games.
FIFA Fan Festival: FIFA Fan Festival Guadalajara — Plaza de la Liberación, Centro Histórico (between the Cathedral and Teatro Degollado) (June 11 - July 19, 2026 (free admission))
Matchday transit: Mi Macro Periférico BRT serves Estadio Akron station with a pedestrian walkway to the venue; lines Trunk 1 (T01) and Trunk 2 (T02) stop at Estadio Chivas station. Allow 45-60 minutes from downtown on matchdays.
Where fans gather: Beyond the official Fan Festival, fans build their Estadio Akron matchday around Guadalajara — see the Guadalajara fan hotspots and Guadalajara travel guide for the best bars, food and places to watch.
Star power: 1 celebrity sighting has been logged at Estadio Akron — see who in the sightings below.
Hotels, bars, restaurants and things to do near Estadio Akron in Guadalajara — every pick web-researched and source-cited, closest to the stadium first.
This Grupo Habita boutique hotel in Colonia Lafayette features lush tropical gardens, a stunning pool area, and interiors curated with vintage Mexican furniture. Creative travelers, visiting musicians, and design-savvy football fans choose it for its authentic Guadalajara character. The on-site restaurant Lola serves excellent Jaliscan brunch on weekends.
The Grand Fiesta Americana on Avenida López Mateos is Guadalajara's flagship luxury hotel and the preferred base for visiting Liga MX teams, national federations, and international touring musicians performing at the Auditorio Telmex next door. Fans staying here have reported encounters with players from Club Guadalajara, Atlas, and Liga MX rivals in the lobby and gym throughout the season. The hotel's rooftop pool and Sports Bar host lively post-match gatherings that carry on well into the Guadalajara night.
Guadalajara's chicest boutique hotel on Avenida de la Paz, doubling as a contemporary art gallery. Rooftop pool, an acclaimed restaurant, and rooms designed by local artists. Where visiting designers, Chivas VIPs, and celebrities exploring tequila country stay.
This modern luxury hotel near Puerta de Hierro offers a convenient base close to Estadio Akron with sleek rooms and a rooftop infinity pool overlooking the Guadalajara skyline. International teams and visiting sports executives favor it for its contemporary design and proximity to the stadium. The lobby bar mixes excellent palomas.
The RIU Plaza on the Minerva roundabout is Guadalajara's most popular sports-travel hotel, ideally placed between the Chivas and Atlas fan zones and well connected to Estadio Akron by ride-share. The rooftop pool and bar fill with jersey-clad supporters on Clásico Tapatío matchdays, creating an atmosphere that bridges the two great Guadalajara rivalries. Staff are experienced with large football groups and the logistics of match-day arrivals.
Designed by renowned architect Javier Sánchez, this Colonia Americana cocktail bar is a brutalist architectural gem where Guadalajara's creative class gathers. The resident DJ program and inventive mezcal cocktails draw visiting musicians and football fans looking for a sophisticated post-match night out. The space itself is as much the attraction as the drinks.
Cantina La Fuente on Avenida Corona is one of Guadalajara's oldest and most beloved cantinas, established in the 1890s, where Chivas and Atlas fans have been debating football over shot glasses of blanco tequila and cold beer for generations in a wood-and-tile interior that time has barely touched. The free botanas — small plates of food that accompany every drink purchase in traditional Guadalajara cantinas — make it simultaneously a bar and a dining experience. Being welcomed as a stranger by regulars on a match day and leaving as a friend is the Cantina La Fuente experience distilled.
Set in Guadalajara's lively Chapultepec Avenue nightlife strip, Cervecería Chapultepec is a game-day institution for younger Chivas and Atlas supporters who gather here with pitchers of craft beer before and after matches shown on the bar's multiple screens. The long communal tables, cheap pitchers, and high-energy soundtrack create a tailgate atmosphere that extends well past the final whistle on derby days. The bar's central location on Chapultepec makes it easy to walk on and off the strip as fans move between venues throughout the evening.
La Destilería in Guadalajara is a tequila museum and bar rolled into one, where Chivas de Guadalajara fans celebrate victories with flights of Jalisco's finest spirit in a setting that celebrates the soul of Mexican football culture. The bar's collection of over 150 tequilas and the festive atmosphere make it a natural post-match destination in the heart of Chivas country. There is no better place to toast a Clásico Nacional win against América.
Trendy Colonia Americana craft beer bar in a converted mutual aid society building with local brews and food trucks. Young Atlas and Chivas fans gather here for artisanal mezcal cocktails and lively weekend crowds.
Guadalajara's most iconic cantina on the legendary Chapultepec strip, where mezcal flows and the party doesn't stop. Over 200 mezcals, live music, and a crowd of Chivas fans, art students, and tequila industry insiders. The late-night botana (bar snacks) are legendary.
Chef Francisco 'Paco' Ruano's acclaimed restaurant celebrating Jaliscan cuisine with a contemporary twist. Latin America's 50 Best listed. Birria reimagined, tortas ahogadas elevated, and tequila pairings from the source. Chivas de Guadalajara legends, mariachi royalty, and visiting celebrities dine here.
The definitive birria experience in the birthplace of birria, this legendary spot in the Nueve Esquinas neighborhood has been serving rich, slow-cooked goat stew for decades. Chivas and Atlas fans agree on one thing: a steaming bowl here before heading to Estadio Akron is non-negotiable.
Holding a Guinness World Record for fastest restaurant service, Karne Garibaldi serves its signature carne en su jugo within seconds of ordering. This Guadalajara institution has been a matchday tradition for generations of Atlas and Chivas fans heading to and from Estadio Akron. The efficient, no-frills experience is legendary.
Open since 1942, La Chata on Avenida Corona is Guadalajara's most beloved traditional restaurant and a mandatory pre-match dining stop for Chivas and Atlas fans who want an authentic taste of Jalisco before heading to Estadio Akron or Estadio Jalisco. The birria, pozole, and tortas ahogadas here are benchmarks of tapatío cooking, and the cheerful, chaotic atmosphere on match days — with fans in full club colors cramming into the wooden booths — is part of the experience. Servers here have been navigating the derby crowd for decades with professional calm.
La Fonda de San Miguel in the historic Ex-Convento del Carmen is one of Guadalajara's most celebrated traditional restaurants, serving the Jaliscan specialties — torta ahogada, birria de chivo, pozole rojo — that fuel the city's football passion in a spectacular colonial courtyard setting that is among Mexico's finest dining environments. The torta ahogada — a pork roll drowned in spicy tomato sauce — is Guadalajara's signature dish and the city's sports fans eat it with an almost ceremonial regularity before matches. Eating in the convent courtyard before a Clásico Tapatío is a Guadalajara experience of the highest order.
With over 500 tequila labels and refined Jaliscan cuisine, this sleek Avenida México restaurant is a temple to Jalisco's liquid gold. Chivas Roja players celebrate victories here, and visiting international fans make the tequila tasting flights a pre-Estadio Akron ritual. The birria and pozole are as authentic as Guadalajara gets at this level.
The historic Estadio Jalisco, shared by Atlas FC and home to generations of Guadalajara football history, has a worn grandeur that newer stadiums cannot replicate. Atlas's back-to-back 2021-22 Liga MX championships after 70 years of waiting created scenes of almost religious intensity in these stands. The Clásico Tapatío against Chivas here is an occasion of deep community significance for the city's working-class fan base.
On Clásico Nacional match days (Chivas vs América), Guadalajara creates an enormous fan zone in the public spaces around the Estadio Akron with music, food, and supporter activities that begin at dawn. The rivalry is arguably Mexico's most loaded: Chivas represents Mexican identity while América represents the capital. Navigating the fan zone as a neutral gives visitors unfiltered access to this cultural fault line.
Home to Chivas de Guadalajara and selected as a 2026 FIFA World Cup venue, Estadio Akron is one of the most visually striking stadiums in North America — its exterior clad in volcanic rock and surrounded by a commercial and entertainment complex. Chivas matches here are a full day out, with the fan plaza filling hours before kickoff with food, music, and the rojiblanco faithful. A World Cup venue tour ahead of 2026 is already drawing football tourists from around the globe.
Estadio Akron is the spectacular 49,850-seat home stadium built exclusively for Chivas de Guadalajara — the club that fields only Mexican-born players and carries the most deeply nationalist identity in Mexican football — whose stunning architecture and the passionate rojiblanco support create one of North America's greatest stadium experiences. Official tours reveal the immaculate facilities, the trophy room documenting twelve Liga MX championships, and the pitch where the Guadalajara faithful have celebrated generations of Mexican football glory. No venue in Mexican football has a greater claim to representing the soul of the sport.
Tour the stunning 49,850-seat Estadio Akron, home of Chivas de Guadalajara — Mexico's most popular club. The volcanic rock-inspired exterior and 360-degree open concourse make it one of the most architecturally striking stadiums in the Americas, and its all-Mexican player policy gives matches a unique national pride atmosphere.
Estadio Jalisco hosted matches in both the 1970 and 1986 FIFA World Cups, including the legendary Brazil vs. Italy quarterfinal in 1970 widely considered the greatest World Cup match ever played, and a guided tour of its historic stands is essential for any football fan visiting Guadalajara. The stadium is the shared home of Atlas FC and a venue steeped in the fierce Clásico Tapatío rivalry between Atlas and Chivas. Walking the pitch-side tunnel where Pelé, Beckenbauer, and Maradona once passed gives even casual fans a powerful sense of football history.
Estadio Akron in Guadalajara is tracked across 1 event and seats 49,850 fans. Here's how fans build a trip around it:
Structured facts on this page (capacity, opening year, architect, ownership) are compiled from public reference databases and verified against venue coordinates.
Canelo Álvarez have been spotted at Estadio Akron.
Estadio Akron has a capacity of 49,850 people.
Estadio Akron opened in 2010. It was designed by Populous.
CD Guadalajara (Chivas) plays home games at Estadio Akron in Guadalajara.
Guadalajara at the 2026 FIFA World Cup are among the events held at Estadio Akron.
