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.

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 basketball tournament during the 1968 Summer Olympics. However, the Palacio was designed to be a multipurpose arena. There is also a smaller pavilion on complex 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 one month before 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 also a 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 during 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.

Events

The venue opened on October 8, 1968, with a performance by Maurice Béjart's Ballet of the 20th Century.

Text imported from Wikipedia article "Palacio de los Deportes" and modified on March 12, 2025 according to the CC-BY-SA 4.0 International license.