Estadio Tres de Marzo

Lore & Background

Construction of the Estadio Tres de Marzo began in 1971, when the newly founded football team of the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara (UAG), then playing in the third tier of Mexican football, needed a stadium. The steel stands were prefabricated and had a capacity of around 3,000 people. The stadium was named to honor the establishing date of the UAG: 3 March 1935. In 1973, after UAG ascended to the second level, new concrete stands were built to meet a minimum capacity of 15,000. In 1975, after Tecos de la UAG ascended to the Primera División, the stands were remodeled to meet a minimum of 25,000. The stadium was renovated for the 1986 World Cup, bringing capacity to 30,015. In 1999, it underwent its last major renovation, including a new pitch and drainage system. In 2009, it was remodeled to fit the new modern look of Estudiantes Tecos, changing stand colors from yellow and red to wine red and adding the team's logo. In June 2020, Jaguares de Jalisco and Halcones de Zapopan of the Liga de Balompié Mexicano moved to the stadium. In February 2022, the Reyes de Jalisco of the LFA announced they would play there, becoming the first professional gridiron football team to do so; they moved to a new stadium in 2023. In November 2025, UAG leased the stadium to OCESA for ten years, prompting reconstruction to convert it into a concert venue, forcing Tecos to relocate to an adjacent field. In April 2026, the stadium was renamed Coliseo GNP Seguros following a naming rights deal and was announced to reopen in August. After opening, it can continue hosting football matches subject to the concert schedule.

In Their Own Story

The bus pulls into the Zapopan parking lot at 19:40, two hours before kickoff. The air smells of corn tortillas and cheap beer from the vendors lining the access roads. A grandmother in a faded Chivas jersey presses a small flag into her grandson's hand—'This is for the anthem, mijo, you hold it up.' They walk through the turnstiles into a corridor already thrumming with bass from a portable speaker blasting the club anthem. The south stand is a living organism: scarves raised, drums pounding a rhythm that has no score, a man in his sixties weeping openly as the players walk out. The goalkeeper, the youngest on the pitch, pauses at the halfway line and looks up into that wall of red. He has never heard forty thousand people sing in unison. He will never forget the sound. The referee's whistle is almost inaudible. It does not matter. The match has already begun in the stands.

Reader's Guide

The stadium is located inside the campus of the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara in Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico. It has a capacity of 18,779. A 4,000-vehicle parking lot is found along la Avenida de la Patria, providing easy access to nearly the entire city of Guadalajara. The stadium hosted three matches of the 1986 FIFA World Cup.

Did You Know?

• The stadium was originally named Estadio Tres de Marzo to honor the founding date of the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara: 3 March 1935.
• The stadium's steel stands were prefabricated and originally held about 3,000 people when construction began in 1971.
• In 2026, the stadium was renamed Coliseo GNP Seguros after a naming rights deal with GNP Seguros.
• The stadium has been home to Tecos, Jaguares de Jalisco, Halcones de Zapopan, and the Reyes de Jalisco (LFA).