Guadalajara will return to its home in Jalisco after more than a decade away. The Chivas are set to play at the Jalisco Stadium once again, meeting a moment many fans have awaited for years. The move was prompted by Akron Stadium hosting The Weeknd, which would otherwise disrupt the league schedule for the Apertura 2023 clash between Chivas and Tigres. With the concert occupying Akron Stadium, the league agreed to relocate the match to the historic venue in Guadalajara, preserving the integrity of the schedule and giving fans a rare chance to see the team in a beloved home setting.
Jalisco Stadium has long been a cornerstone of Chivas history. The venue served as the club’s home for fifty years, a period marked by triumphs and memorable evenings that helped shape the team’s identity. It is at Jalisco that Chivas claimed six of their twelve national championships, cementing the stadium as a symbolic battleground for the club and a cherished site for supporters across generations. The stadium’s legacy extends beyond the home club; it has also hosted other teams in the city, including Atlas and the Black Lions of the Mexican Expansion League, who have taken up residence there during this transitional phase. This temporary tenancy underscores the stadium’s importance and its ongoing role in Guadalajara’s football culture.
For fans following Chivas, a question often arises about when the team last played a home match at Jalisco Stadium. The most recent moment arrived in the 2010 Apertura, a season etched in memory as Chivas faced Puebla on their home soil. That afternoon ended in a goalless draw, a result that remains a notable crossroads in the club’s recent history. After that game, the club shifted its home base to Akron Stadium, a change that has continued to this day. The move represented more than logistics; it reflected the evolving landscape of Mexican football venues and the ways clubs adapt to changing schedules and facilities while maintaining deep ties to their historical homes.
As the current season unfolds, the return to Jalisco Stadium symbolizes continuity and renewal for Chivas. The team will once again step onto a field surrounded by decades of affection and rivalry, with fans eager to relive the atmosphere that defined so many chapters of the club. While the stadium’s walls carry memories of past championships, they also glow with the promise of new chapters and the possibility of future nocturnal games that become local legends. The comedy of football, the drama of intensity, and the quiet pride of a city united by its team all converge when Chivas takes the pitch at Jalisco.
This relocation mirrors a broader trend in Mexican football where clubs occasionally recalibrate venues to accommodate major events, ensure safety, and optimize the fan experience. In Guadalajara, the decision to bring Chivas home to Jalisco Stadium highlights the city’s enduring connection to the club and the stadium’s central place in the sport’s narrative within the region. The tennis of schedule, the cadence of the fans, and the echoes of past victories all contribute to a unique matchday energy that only a return to Jalisco can deliver, especially for a club with half a century of history tied to the venue. The guests of the stands will include devoted supporters who remember the older battles fought on that soil, as well as newer fans who have grown up hearing about the stadium’s storied days and the moments that altered the course of Chivas forever. In this moment, the stadium becomes more than a stage for a match; it becomes a bridge to a revered era and a promising horizon for the chapters yet to come.
As GOAL notes, the return to the Jalisco Stadium marks a meaningful milestone for Chivas as they reconnect with a home ground that has shaped their triumphs and tested their resolve. The clubs, the fans, and the city itself share in the anticipation of a night that honors history while embracing the future of Mexican football.