The Estadio Ciudad de los Deportes became Cruz Azul's home in 2024, after renovation work began at the Estadio Azteca for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. On Saturday, Cruz Azul will begin their Liga MX Clausura 2025 season hosting Atlas, but they'll do so in their third different home stadium in four seasons.
Cruz Azul made the official announcement that they'll play their 2025 home matches at the Estadio Olímpico Universitario —the home of city rivals Pumas— in an effort to keep the team in Mexico City.
In the statement released by the club, Cruz Azul cited the desire to "improve the club's operational and commercial conditions whilst also staying put in Mexico City" as the main reason for the move.
There are two major factors that led to this decision. The first one is that logistically, the Estadio Ciudad de los Deportes had its issues. Last November, the stadium was temporarily closed by local authorities because of mistakes in logistical planning that led to a game taking place at the same time that a concert was being held at the adjacent Monumental Plaza de Toros Mexico, something forbidden by law.
The second issue is that, because Cruz Azul didn't own the stadium, according to reports, the team had to pay around 42% of their revenue from home matches to the owners of the stadium. Although there was an offer to reduce that number, it wasn't significant enough for La Maquina to stay put.
Nuestro estadio para el 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣5️⃣ pic.twitter.com/aV1D5ak23t
— CRUZ AZUL (@CruzAzul) January 8, 2025
Cruz Azul will go from sharing a stadium with their biggest rivals, Club América, to sharing it with another bitter rival in Pumas. However, in the statement released, Cruz Azul once again confirmed their commitment to find a place within Mexico City to build their new and permanent home.
It's yet to be confirmed where Cruz Azul will play their 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup home games.
La Máquina won twice at the Estadio Olimpico Universitario in 2024 and will hope the ground serves as a fortress this year, with the team entering 2025 with the clear goal of adding a 10th Liga MX title to their trophy cabinet.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Why Cruz Azul Changed Home Stadiums for Liga MX Clausura 2025.
