The Estadio Nemesio Díez, nicknamed La Bombonera, is one of the oldest football stadiums in Mexico. Opened on August 8, 1954, with a capacity of 30,000 seats, it is located in the city ofToluca, Mexico, near Mexico City. It is the home of Deportivo Toluca Fútbol Club. Because of its location this stadium has hosted two World Cups. The stadium sits at an altitude of roughly above sea level, one of the highest altitude stadiums in North America. A former nuance about this stadium is that it did not have a lighting system, which forced the local team as a tradition to play at noon. The stadium was previously known as: Estadio Toluca 70-86, Estadio Toluca 70, Estadio Luis Gutiérrez Dosal and Estadio Héctor Barraza.
History
During the 1940s and 1950s, Toluca played its home games at a ground near downtown Toluca known then as Tivoli. Later, wooden stands were built in the ground and it was named Campo Patria. On that same spot, in 1953, the club started building its own stadium. The stadium was inaugurated on Sunday 8 August 1954, with a match between Toluca and Yugoslavian team Dinamo Zagreb. The game was won by Dinamo 4–1. The only goal for Toluca and also the first in the history of the stadium was scored by Enrique Sesma. Initially, the stadium was opened as Estadio Club Deportivo Toluca. That name lasted until 1955, when it was changed to Estadio Héctor Barraza. Other names the stadium has had are: Estadio Luis Gutiérrez Dosal, Estadio Toluca 70, Estadio Toluca 70–86. After the death of Nemesio Díez, president and then owner of the club, in June 2000, the stadium name was changed to Estadio Nemesio Díez.
Renovation (2015–2017)
With an investment of 800 million MXN, the announcement to remodel The Nemesio Diez stadium by 2017 was made, when Club Deportivo Toluca celebrates its centenary and does so with a remodeled and more functional stadium. Within the Nemesio Diez, four macro support columns that will sustain the stadium structure will be built to replace the current columns obstructing visibility. In the shadow stands, a second level will be built so the capacity, which currently stands at 22,000 will increase to 30,000. The project also includes four giant screens at each end of the building, replacement of all seats and a sunroof in the preferred section, to assist in the process of maintaining the natural grass in the field. The remodeled stadium officially opened on January 15, 2017 with a league match against Club America. The first goal was scored by Gabriel Hauche for Toluca with a screamer outside of the box. Toluca FC won that match 2-1. The stadium was completed in the summer 2017 where it had been confirmed that the club would play against Atlético Madrid for the official inauguration of the remodeled stadium.
