How a Mexican firm's stadium solutions are winning over crowds in LatAm and elsewhere

Lightweight solutions for sports stadiums have not only become an economic and sustainable option for projects around Latin America, but also the main focus of Mexican firm Dünn Lightweight Architecture that has won contracts for works in Qatar and Spain.

“The main core of our business is providing light structures. We use lightweight materials such as PVC, fiberglass, polymers, any type of textile material or lightweight material for megaprojects,” CEO Andrés Villaseñor (in photo) told BNamericas.

The solutions vary depending on the type of project, but a good example includes stadium covers or roofs where light materials are ideal for several reasons. 

“The lighter the roof is, or the less mass a project can have, the greater its economy. Let's say that all the mass in the end is a matter of cost, so when we have light roofs, we reduce mass, we also reduce energy and somehow in this way we can help such an expensive roof to achieve a certain economy,” he said. 

Dünn Lightweight was among the few Mexican companies hired to work on stadiums for the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar. But it has also won contracts in El Salvador, where it is helping with the rehabilitation of sport complexes for this year’s XXIV Central American and Caribbean Games, and Spain, where it was hired to provide lightweight solutions for the Santiago Bernabéu stadium, home to Real Madrid soccer club.  

With the 2027 Panamerican Games to be hosted in Colombia, the firm is also bullish about new opportunities in the South American nation. 

“We are very proud to be Mexican and to be all over the world doing our job and sharing our experiences and quality as a company in the market,” Villaseñor said. 

In Mexico, the firm had a major role during the construction of the Diablos Rojos baseball stadium in Mexico City that was opened in 2019 and the Cuauhtémoc soccer stadium in Puebla state that was opened in 2015. 

Currently, the company is working on a new deal for another major remodeling project, but Villaseñor said more details will be unveiled when that is confirmed. 

New projects in Mexico

For years now, plans have been underway to build or remodel four major stadiums in Mexico. Yet, for one reason or another, none of these has kicked off construction despite heavy interest from the private sector and local governments. 

Among them is the US$150mn modernization of Mexico City’s Aztec stadium, which is currently halted due to local opposition. Works include a hotel and shopping center.

Another is the new 2.2bn-peso (US$115mn) Estadio Sostenible de Yucatán (ESY) in Mérida, the US$320mn Tigres stadium in Nuevo León state capital Monterrey and the long-awaited new stadium for soccer team Cruz Azul, which has not confirmed a location. While the last of these lacks a lot of clarity, the first two are being led by New York-based real estate firm Juego de Pelota and have faced several legal and social challenges. 

All these projects have one thing in common: the need for lightweight materials that save costs and are in line with global sustainability trends, according to Villaseñor, who also said multipurpose stadium projects such as the Yucatán complex are becoming more popular by the day.

“An investment for a stadium is very high to only use it every 15 days. So, to make the projects profitable, they are not only building soccer stadiums, but a venue that can be modified to be able to give it different uses during all the days of the week or the most possible,” he said.