Diablos Rojos Baseball Stadium

After 16 championships and more than 70 years of history as the leading baseball team of Mexico, Los Diablos Rojos del Mexico will have a new home stadium, with an impressive 13,000+ covered seats and 7,000 berm seating, scheduled to open February 2019. Mr. Alfredo Harp Helú has commissioned Francisco Gonzalez-Pulido (FGP ATELIER) and Alonso de Garay (ADG) to design the new stadium that will be located within the sports complex of Magdalena Mixhuca.

Centro Deportivo Alfredo Harp Helú is more than a building, it is an urban complex.
Estadio Diablos will have a monumental lightweight roof structure resembling Diablos’ trident, which drastically contrasts the predictable roof geometry that has historically defined baseball stadiums around the world. Indicative of the sky, the roof design is sharp, translucent, luminous and dynamic. Composed of lightweight steel wrapped in PTFE textile material, the roof will become an iconic symbol for the great City of Mexico.

In contrast to the visual lightness of the roof, the base level is ceremonial and draws from many cultural cues. Designed using local materials from the Valley of Mexico and inspired by the pre-Hispanic era, the plaza level design has specific references to the court of the ancient Mesoamerican ballgame and emphasizes the connection between the earth and the heavens. The guiding concept was to establish the duality between prehispanic Mexico through the base and contemporary Mexico through the roof of Centro Deportivo Alfredo Harp Helú which blends tradition, innovation, austerity and technology into one space.

The procession from Centro Deportivo Alfredo Harp Helú’s grounds into the ballpark alludes to climbing an ancient Mesoamerican temple. As the spectator approaches the grand entrance, they are confronted with six truncated pyramids cladded in indigenous volcanic rock. Once inside, a ring connects all the seats and functions into one experience with unobstructed views to the field.

The key goal for Centro Deportivo Alfredo Harp Helú is the vision of a great public space, where the open space is as important as the built space, which is a prominent architectural feature within Mexican culture. Successful spaces must encourage strong social engagement, incorporate Mexican traditions and respect existing natural conditions. Therefore, the new stadium is seamlessly integrated to four major public spaces with very distinct characteristics.

Centro Deportivo Alfredo Harp Helú aims to reduce energy consumption, waste and emissions. The design strives for a Net-Zero building using passive systems with minimal HVAC integration and active water reduction systems. This goal of sustainable design including minimal ecological impact sets a strong precedent for a new standard of building within Mexico.

Centro Deportivo Alfredo Harp Helú is more than a stadium, it is Mexico’s ballpark. Our challenge was to make the stadium a social and cultural center. As Estadio Azteca is the home of Mexican football, we strive for Centro Deportivo Alfredo Harp Helú to become the home of Mexican baseball. Estadio Diablos is inclusive. It is a gift from Los Diablos Rojos to the Mexican people.

The strategic alliance between Francisco Gonzalez Pulido and Alonso de Garay provides a strategic balance between Mexican culture and advanced technology within the new stadium design.

FGP ATELIER is an international architectural firm headquartered in Chicago. Led by Founder and Principal, Francisco Gonzalez Pulido, a Mexican native, FGP ATELIER’s approach is based on the principals of integrated design, cultural and site-specific research and building solutions with clients. The firm’s core values are structured within three main notions: experiential architecture, evolutionary ideas, and extraordinary design.

ADG is an architecture studio based in Mexico City and led by Alonso de Garay, founded under the principles of re-valorizing cities’ historic, cultural, artistic and social content, to generate new typologies that address the needs of contemporary societies. Museums, historic renovations, residential and office projects are among the firm’s most distinguished buildings.