Estadio Akron, the French-designed ‘volcano’ born from a bold Mexican vision | OneFootball

Estadio Akron in Zapopan, beside Guadalajara, sprang from the imagination of French duo Daniel Pouzet and Jean-Marie Massaud, who had never designed a stadium and have not done so since.

During dinner in the city, billionaire Jorge Vergara, Omnilife founder and Chivas owner since 31 October 2002, asked Pouzet to deliver an ultra-modern home after deeming Estadio Jalisco outdated. According to L'Équipe, that ground staged France 1-1 Brazil, 4-3 on penalties, at the 1986 World Cup.

An interiors specialist who had delivered an international showcase for Renault, Pouzet first thought the request was a joke. He then hand-drew the scheme three times to keep to a €270m budget at current value, pursuing an eruptive, volcano-led concept.

The arena rises from an artificial hill with a 30-degree grass slope, below an oval white roof that appears to float like a cloud. A fibreglass membrane coated in Teflon collects rainwater into underground reservoirs to irrigate the site, and seismic demands required fresh calculations for the steel supports.

Opened on 30 July 2010 with a 3-2 win over Manchester United, shortly after Chivas sold Javier “Chicharito” Hernández to the visitors, it was meant to anchor Vergara’s 300-hectare Centro JVC plan. The vision never materialised, leaving an 8,000-space car park.

Since then, Pouzet has built a Buddhist temple in Guadalajara in 2019 and hotels in the Philippines, including the Nay Palad Hideaway eco-resort. He has never worked in France, which he puts down to karma, and he views Akron as a curious one-off that remains enough for him.

Source: L'Équipe