“Its wide green spaces beckon to us. We come to shatter its quietude. We come to join in the festivity. A celebration to be held for the time travelers who have made their way to this quiet valley to not only share in libations and festivities. We gather to stop time. We gather to relive the past and hope for the future. We come to pay homage to el Rebaño Sagrado”.
- Robert Amorelli (Game Day).
A well-known geological fact is that the most important volcanic and seismic areas of the planet are located in the Pacific Ring of Fire. Part of this belt reaches the Pacific coast of Jalisco, which is the reason why volcanic and seismic phenomena occur more frequently in this region.
There are about 566 volcanoes in Mexico, but not all have been recognized as such. The most famous of them being the Iztaccihuatl and Popocatepetl, the Xinantécatl or Nevado de Toluca, La Malinche, in Puebla and Tlaxcala and the Paricutin, which is the youngest volcano in Mexico, erupting from the Earth on February 20, 1943.
Well it was the youngest until July 30th, 2010 when the Earth once again opened its arms and gave birth to a dream: el Estadio Akron.
Located in Guadalajara, Mexico, the Estadio Akron (formerly known as Estadio Omnilife or Estadio Chivas) was completed in 2009 after 5 years under construction.
Jorge Vergara Madrigal (RIP) had had a dream of constructing a home worthy of the grandeur of Club Deportivo Guadalajara and soon after acquiring the team, he contacted the French design duo of Jean-Marie Massaud (designer) and Daniel Pouzet (architect) for JVC-Omnilife and asked them to give life to his vision. And they did just that.
The avant-garde proposal of the design and architecture studio approached the challenge with a unique vision of life as a thing of constant transformation. Massaud and Pouzet took one look at the colossal scenery of the Bajio Zapopano, and created a design which skillfully blended the environment, exploiting the surroundings, using the eruption of a volcano as their theme.
Slowly, Chivas Stadium emerged. ‘El Volcán’. The only thing that was missing was the eruption. The Earth opened its arms and filled the sky with multicolored flames on July 30th, 2010. For the first time, the cheers of chanting crowds spread over the valley as a multitude clad in regal Red and White filled the stadium.
For the first time the wide green spaces surrounding the stadium beckoned to them. They had come to shatter its quietude. They had come to join in the festivities. To join in the celebration to be held for the time travelers who had made their way to this quiet valley to not only share in libations and festivities. They had gathered to stop time. They had gathered to relive the past and hope for the future. They had gathered to pay homage and share in the dream that Jorge Vergara had had so many years before.
Tha Akron Stadium rises now, it stands a decade later. His dream, a volcano crowned by clouds.
NOTE:
- The first game played on the majestic pitch was an international friendly match between Club Deportivo Guadalajara and Manchester United. The final score 3–2 in favor of Chivas.
- It also was the last game played by Chivas’ prodigal son Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez, who subsequently went on to international fame in Europe.
