Inside the world’s first purpose-built music stadium

Mexico City’s newly renovated GNP Seguros Stadium (previously called Foro Sol) was unveiled last week with three sold-out concerts by Bruno Mars.

Inaugurated in 1993, the 65,000-capacity venue is the world’s only permanent stadium that is purpose-built for concerts.

“The goal of other stadiums is usually sport or some other event,” the stadium’s architect Pepe Moyao tells IQ. “Usually, in those venues, you lose a bleacher when you put in a stage. That doesn’t happen in GNP Seguros Stadium – it’s built for concerts. We also have the flexibility to move the stage – back or forward or into the middle – and to host whatever concert is wanted.”

The venue’s operator, Live Nation-backed Ocesa, declined to reveal the cost of the latest update but Mexico City’s head of government Martí Batres recently revealed that the firm has invested 2.3 billion pesos (€36m/US$121m) since the stadium opened in the ’90s.

Following the renovation, the GNP Seguros Stadium now boasts a roof spanning more than 13,000 m² (139,930.84 ft²) that collects rainwater stored for reuse, plus 280 state-of-the-art screens to improve the viewing of the shows inside the venue and provide timely information to attendees.

“The stadium will continue being the global benchmark venue where the best national and international artists connect with their fans”

Other additions include more comfortable seating, new and improved spaces for food and beverage consumption, hospitality areas for the public and corporate clients, panoramic elevators, more accessible spaces, increased restrooms, and internal and peripheral lighting that will allow better visibility and safety.

Ocesa founder and CEO, Alejandro Soberón Kuri, said the renovations will enable the stadium to “continue being the global benchmark venue where the best national and international artists connect with their fans”.

While Ocesa COO George Gonzalez told IQ the firm expects a banner year for the venue, which will likely beat last year’s ‘incredible’ ticket sales despite being closed for six months.

The venue closed in February 2024 and was originally due to re-open in September with a concert by Metallica but the renovation was sped up to secure Bruno Mars’s first shows in Mexico for six years.

For the stadium’s first renewal since 1993, Ocesa enlisted Pepe Moyao, the renowned architect behind the original stadium and other iconic music venues such as Auditorio Telmex (cap. 11,500) in Guadalajara and Pepsi Center (7,500) in Mexico City.

“Since the [first stadium build], international artists have always been in mind”

The first incarnation of the stadium – four huge temporary bleachers – was assembled in November 1993, especially for Madonna, who performed three shows there as part of her world tour The Girlie Show.

These shows marked the beginning of large-scale concerts in Mexico, which until then was only equipped to host shows with up to 20,000 attendees.

The temporary stadium, then named Foro Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, also hosted concerts with Paul McCartney, Pink Floyd and The Rolling Stones.

Given the success of the blockbuster concerts, Moyao was commissioned to build the permanent stadium, which opened in October 1997 with a concert by David Bowie as part of his Earthling Tour.

“Since the beginning, international artists have always been in mind,” Moyao told IQ. “And all the new amenities in GNP Seguros Stadium are a result of what we have learned during these 30 years. I know the chain of command very well now, from production to ticketing to food and beverage. Many of the people that work for my company are younger people who go to the stadium and have given feedback on their lived experience.”

“All the new amenities in GNP Seguros Stadium are a result of what we have learned during these 30 years”

Crowd flow in the venue was especially important in the renovation design as the GNP Seguros Stadium is part of a complex, which is operated by Ocesa and includes the 26,000-capacity Sports Palace (Palacio de los Deportes) and Formula 1 racetrack Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.

The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez runs through the standing section of GNP Seguros Stadium while another corner of the racetrack is used to host Ocesa’s biggest Mexico City festivals such as Corona Capital, Coca-Cola Flow Fest and Electric Daisy Carnival.

Other artists lined up to perform at the new GNP Seguros Stadium include Feid, Natanael Cano, Caifanes, Eric Clapton, The Killers, Blink 182, Paul McCartney, Iron Maiden, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, Morat and Twenty One Pilots.

In other news, Ocesa announced yesterday that it will open a new 40,000-capacity complex in Bogotá, Colombia.

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