Fan Stay
Casa Lecanda
Intimate boutique hotel in a beautifully restored colonial mansion in Mérida's centro. With just seven suites, it offers the most personal and luxurious stay in the White City of the Yucatán.
stadium
Estadio Carlos Iturralde
Mérida, Mexico · Capacity: 18,000
About Estadio Carlos Iturralde
Estadio Carlos Iturralde is a major stadium in Mérida, Mexico, with regular global sports and entertainment events.
- Opened: 1987
- Capacity: 18,000
- Home team: Venados FC
Fan Guide · Venados FC
Football in the heart of the Maya world
The Estadio Carlos Iturralde is the home of Venados FC in Mérida — the elegant colonial capital of the Yucatán and the gateway to the Maya world, from Chichén Itzá to a countryside dotted with cenotes.
Mérida is famous for its safety, its Yucatecan cuisine and its plazas alive with music.
Below are the Mérida stays, restaurants and bars fans use around the stadium.
Fan tip: Base in Mérida's colonial centre and day-trip to Chichén Itzá and the cenotes — the Yucatán is the real draw.
Where Fans Stay, Eat & Drink near Estadio Carlos Iturralde
All Mérida hotspots →Hotels, bars, restaurants and things to do near Estadio Carlos Iturralde in Mérida — every pick web-researched and source-cited, closest to the stadium first.
Where to Stay
Fan Stay
Casa Lecanda Boutique Hotel
Intimate boutique hotel in a beautifully restored 19th-century colonial mansion on Paseo de Montejo. With just seven suites, a tranquil courtyard pool, and refined service, it offers a serene retreat for fans visiting Mérida for events at Estadio Carlos Iturralde.
Fan Stay
Coqui Coqui Mérida Residence & Spa
Intimate boutique hotel and perfumery in a restored colonial mansion in Mérida's historic center. A luxurious retreat for discerning travelers who want to experience Yucatecan culture alongside Liga MX football and Mérida's vibrant music scene.
Fan Stay
Hotel Medio Mundo
A charming boutique hotel in a restored colonial home in Merida's historic centro, featuring a lush garden pool and individually designed rooms. Hotel Medio Mundo puts fans within walking distance of the Paseo de Montejo and Merida's vibrant weekend cultural events, including live music at Parque Santa Lucia.
Fan Stay
W Mérida
The W Mérida brings the brand's signature WET deck rooftop pool and lively bar scene to the Yucatán capital, making it the city's most stylish base for sports fans who want to combine event attendance with a resort-quality stay. The hotel's WET pool bar is a prime post-match celebration spot, with a DJ spinning and views over the rooftops of Mérida extending to the horizon. Visiting boxing delegations — the sport is huge in Yucatán — frequently choose the W for its gym facilities and central location near the Poliforum León Ibarra.
Bars & Pubs
Hennessy's Irish Pub Mérida
Hennessy's Irish Pub on Calle 60 has been the go-to sports bar for Mérida's international fan community for years, showing Liga MX, European football, the NFL, and MLB on multiple screens to a mixed crowd of expats and local Pumas and Club Mérida supporters. The bar's location on one of the city's main entertainment streets makes it easy to transition from a daytime market visit to an evening of serious sports watching without changing neighborhoods. The draught beer selection and fish and chips make it a welcoming home base for any traveling fan.
La Fundación Mezcalería
Stylish mezcal bar in Mérida's Santa Ana neighborhood with an impressive selection of artisanal mezcals and creative cocktails. A chic postgame spot for fans unwinding after catching Venados FC or attending events at the Gran Museo del Mundo Maya.
La Mezcaleria
An atmospheric courtyard mezcal bar in Merida's centro offering guided tastings of rare artisanal mezcals from across Mexico. Baseball fans and Noche Blanca festival visitors sip smoky spirits under the stars in this beautifully lit colonial patio.
Dzalbay Cantina
Modern cantina in Mérida's centro blending traditional Yucatecan cantina culture with inventive cocktails featuring local ingredients like chaya and habanero. A vibrant nightlife spot after fútbol matches.
La Negrita Cantina
Atmospheric cantina in Mérida's centro histórico known for its extensive mezcal selection, craft cocktails, and frequent live music. Football fans fill the space on match nights, and its location on the Santa Lucía park makes it a vibrant hub before games at Estadio Iturralde.
La Sochantera
Atmospheric mezcaleria in a restored colonial building in Merida's centro, offering an extensive agave spirits menu and creative tropical cocktails. Live trova music on weekends and a bohemian crowd make it a vibrant postgame spot for fans unwinding after Venados FC matches.
Restaurants
Fan Eats
Apoala
Acclaimed modern Mexican restaurant on Merida's Santa Lucia park serving creative Yucatecan dishes with Oaxacan influences. The open-air colonial courtyard and inventive cocktails make it a refined pregame dining experience for fans visiting Estadio Carlos Iturralde.
Fan Eats
Chichén Itzá Day Trip from Mérida
The 120-kilometre journey from Mérida to Chichén Itzá passes through Yucatán towns famous for their traditional cochinita pibil — stopping at Valladolid's Mercado Municipal for the definitive pre-Chichén breakfast of slow-roasted pork on fresh tortillas is as much a part of the day-trip ritual as the ruins themselves. The Great Ball Court at Chichén Itzá, where the Maya played their high-stakes ritual sport millennia before modern football was codified, connects any sports fan to the deepest possible roots of the competitive athletic impulse. Combining a Maya ballcourt morning with a Club Deportivo Mérida evening match makes for the most historically layered sports-travel day in Mexico.
Fan Eats
Kuuk
A contemporary Yucatecan haute cuisine restaurant in a restored colonial mansion reinventing Mayan-inspired dishes with modern flair. Fans visiting for Venados baseball or cultural festivals discover the avant-garde side of Merida's food scene here.
Fan Eats
La Chaya Maya
Beloved Mérida restaurant specializing in Yucatecan classics like cochinita pibil, papadzules, and sopa de lima in a colorful colonial setting. A top choice for visiting fans before matches at Estadio Carlos Iturralde, offering an authentic taste of the Yucatán Peninsula.
Fan Eats
La Tradición
Traditional Yucatecan restaurant celebrated for its cochinita pibil, papadzules, and sopa de lima prepared from family recipes. A true taste of Mérida for fans in town for Liga MX matches at Estadio Carlos Iturralde.
Fan Eats
Los Almendros
A Merida institution credited with popularizing poc chuc, the iconic Yucatecan grilled pork dish. Los Almendros has been serving traditional Yucatecan cuisine since the 1960s and remains a must-visit for fans exploring Merida's culinary scene, with dishes like papadzules and sopa de lima that showcase the region's unique flavors.
Things to Do
Things to Do
Chichén Itzá Day-Trip Pilgrimage
The ancient Maya city of Chichén Itzá is just 120 kilometres from Mérida and home to the Great Ball Court, the largest pre-Columbian ball court in Mesoamerica where athletes played a high-stakes ancestor of modern sport. Sports fans who understand the ritual and athletic significance of the juego de pelota are rewarded with a transcendent historical experience. Combining a match at Estadio Iturralde with a dawn visit to Chichén Itzá makes for the ultimate Yucatán sports-culture weekend.
Attraction
Estadio Carlos Iturralde Rivero
Home of Venados FC and occasional Liga MX matches, this 18,000-seat stadium is the sporting heart of the Yucatan Peninsula. The stadium hosts matches with a distinctly Yucatecan fan culture, blending Mayan heritage with Mexican football passion. Evening matches offer respite from the tropical heat with lively local food vendors.
Attraction
Gran Museo del Mundo Maya
The extraordinary Gran Museo del Mundo Maya is a world-class institution that sports travelers visiting Mérida use to anchor a full cultural day alongside their football itinerary. The museum's collection traces the history of the ancient Maya through artifacts and interactive installations, including displays on the ritual ballgame that is the ancestor of modern Mesoamerican sport. Any fan who appreciates the deep roots of athletic competition will find this museum genuinely moving.
Attraction
Estadio Kukulcán Fan Zone
Estadio Kukulcán is home to the Leones de Yucatán, one of the Liga Mexicana de Béisbol's most storied franchises, and attending a game here gives visiting fans a vivid introduction to the passionate baseball culture of the Yucatán Peninsula. The stadium's intimate configuration — capacity around 13,000 — means every seat is close to the action, and the local crowd's drumming sections, choreographed chants, and elaborate team banners rival professional baseball atmospheres in the United States. Arriving early to watch batting practice and sampling the stadium's regional food vendors makes for a complete fan experience.
Things to Do
Mérida en Domingo Street Festival
Every Sunday, the historic city center of Mérida closes to traffic and becomes a massive open-air festival of music, food, dance, and community that draws sports fans and tourists alike. The event captures Mérida's unique blend of Maya and colonial culture and is the perfect complement to a match-day weekend. Fans who time their visit to include a Sunday in Mérida invariably call it a highlight of their entire sports travel trip.
Things to Do
Paseo de Montejo Cultural Walk
Stroll Merida's grand boulevard modeled after the Champs-Elysees, lined with ornate mansions from the henequen boom era. The Paseo de Montejo features the stunning Palacio Canton (Regional Museum of Anthropology) with Mayan artifacts, outdoor cafes, and vibrant Sunday cultural markets. A perfect pre-match walk through Yucatecan high culture.
Plan Your Trip to Estadio Carlos Iturralde
Estadio Carlos Iturralde in Mérida is tracked across 0 events and seats 18,000 fans. Here's how fans build a trip around it:
- Anchor Event: Use the event cards below to select your next anchor date.
- Celebrities Tracked Here: Bruno Marioni and others appear in linked venue sightings.
- Post-Event Path: Continue into Mérida and Mérida hotspots for food, bars, and stay options.
Celebrity Sightings at Estadio Carlos Iturralde
Sources & References
Structured facts on this page (capacity, opening year, architect, ownership) are compiled from public reference databases and verified against venue coordinates.
Frequently Asked Questions About Estadio Carlos Iturralde
Bruno Marioni have been spotted at Estadio Carlos Iturralde.
Estadio Carlos Iturralde has a capacity of 18,000 people.
Estadio Carlos Iturralde opened in 1987.
Venados FC plays home games at Estadio Carlos Iturralde in Mérida.
Check our events page for upcoming events at Estadio Carlos Iturralde.