Touchdown Theory
← Stadiums

Estadio Banorte

Mexico City, MexicoNeutral site

A neutral-site venue where the league plays abroad. There is no home team here, and the environment is unlike any domestic stadium.

Playing conditions

Roof
Open air

Fully exposed to wind, cold, and rain.

Surface
Grass

Natural grass.

Elevation
7,200 ft

High enough for thin air to matter; the ball carries farther.

The venue

Capacity87,523
Opened1966
Time zoneCentral Mexico
FormerlyEstadio Guillermo Cañedo, Azteca Stadium

How this venue plays

This is an open-air venue, so the game is exposed to its environment and the forecast is part of the projection. Wind is the largest single effect, pulling down the passing and kicking games; cold suppresses offense more gradually; and rain shows up mostly in ball security and play calling.

Altitude matters here in a way it does not anywhere else. Thinner air means less drag, so the ball carries farther on both throws and kicks, and the model accounts for it directly.

The measured effect of these conditions on a specific game appears alongside that game once the season is live.