Estadio El Encanto

About Estadio El Encanto

Estadio El Encanto rises from the Pradera Dorada neighborhood on the eastern edge of Mazatlán, a Pacific coast resort city in Sinaloa known for its beaches, Carnival, and banda music. With 25,000 seats, it’s the newest Liga MX stadium in Mexico and the home of Mazatlán FC — a club born in 2020 when the Monarcas Morelia franchise relocated to the coast.

The stadium’s architecture is its calling card. Designed by Dunn Arquitectura Ligera, the organic roof lines are inspired by ocean waves, and the translucent PVDF membrane facade — 16,000 square meters of it — gives the building a luminous, almost living quality. Fans immediately nicknamed it El Kraken, after the mythological sea creature, though the club officially adopted the name Estadio El Encanto in October 2023 under a sponsorship deal with a local developer.

The venue sits on a 10-hectare plot with the pitch sunken below ground level in the reinforced concrete lower bowl. Two tiers wrap the north, east, and west stands, while the south end remains open — framing the stadium entrance and creating a dramatic reveal as fans approach. Mazatlán’s tropical climate keeps the natural grass healthy year-round, and the partial membrane roof provides essential sun protection without fully enclosing the space.

Mazatlán’s tropical Pacific climate shapes the match-day experience. Summer fixtures (June through September) bring heat and humidity — temperatures routinely hit 32-35°C (90-95°F) with heavy afternoon rain showers that clear before evening kickoffs. The partial membrane roof is critical here, shielding most seated fans from both sun and rain while the open sections allow ocean breezes to circulate through the bowl.

Mazatlán FC and the Liga MX Femenil squad share the venue. The Mexico national team played here in June 2023, beating Guatemala 2-0 with goals from Raúl Jiménez and Roberto de la Rosa before a crowd of over 20,000. The stadium has also hosted concerts, including Banda El Recodo — Mazatlán’s most famous musical export — performing a halftime show during the Clausura 2025 opener.

Getting to Estadio El Encanto

Public Transit

Mazatlán has no rail or metro system. City buses and the iconic pulmonías are your options.

Eco-taxis (regular sedan taxis) are also available throughout the city at around MXN $100 per ride.

Driving + Parking

GPS address: Av. Munich s/n, Fraccionamiento Pradera Dorada, Mazatlán, Sinaloa 82139.

On-site parking holds 2,000+ vehicles but fills fast on match days. Informal overflow lots operate on surrounding streets along Av. Munich and in the Pradera Dorada neighborhood. After matches, streets near the stadium switch to one-way traffic — allow extra time for your exit.

Rideshare

Uber and DiDi both operate in Mazatlán. From the Golden Zone or Malecón, a ride to the stadium costs MXN $80-120 (USD $4-6), about 20-25 minutes. After matches, walk about 800 meters west on Av. Munich to find a rideshare pickup point — streets immediately around the stadium are closed to traffic post-match.

From the Airport

History of Estadio El Encanto

Mazatlán FC’s existence and its stadium are inseparable from one of the most controversial franchise moves in Liga MX history. In 2020, the Monarcas Morelia — a beloved club in Michoacán with decades of history — were relocated to the Pacific coast by owner Ricardo Salinas Pliego’s TV Azteca group. The move devastated Morelia fans but gave Mazatlán its first top-flight football club.

Construction of the stadium had begun in 2017, designed by Dunn Arquitectura Ligera with structural engineering by JCR Estructural. The project cost approximately MXN $652 million, funded by the state government of Sinaloa. Despite pandemic disruptions, the stadium was inaugurated virtually on July 23, 2020, with a Banda El Recodo concert streamed without fans due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Key moments in the stadium’s history:

• July 27, 2020: First-ever match — Mazatlán FC 1-4 Puebla, played behind closed doors.
• October 16, 2020: First match with spectators — 6,000 fans attend Mazatlán FC vs. FC Juárez.
• June 7, 2023: First international match — Mexico 2-0 Guatemala. Raúl Jiménez and Roberto de la Rosa score before 20,068 fans.
• October 25, 2023: Stadium officially renamed from Estadio de Mazatlán to Estadio El Encanto under a five-year sponsorship deal.
• January 2025: Banda El Recodo performs the first halftime show during the Clausura 2025 opener, coinciding with Carnaval Internacional de Mazatlán.

The stadium’s architecture has won genuine admirers. The wave-inspired rooflines and luminous facade have given Mazatlán a landmark that fits the city’s coastal identity. The controversy surrounding the club’s origins has faded somewhat as Mazatlán FC builds its own identity. The Cañoneros (Canoneers) nickname, the purple-and-black color scheme, and the Pacific coast atmosphere are all distinctly Mazatlán — no trace of the old Morelia Monarcas remains. Average attendance has climbed steadily each season, with 2025 Clausura home matches drawing over 15,000 fans regularly.

Whether the El Kraken nickname or the El Encanto sponsorship sticks, the building itself has already become a symbol of the city — a modern venue on the Pacific that makes the case for Liga MX beyond Mexico’s traditional football strongholds.