When a Stadium Is No Longer Just a Stadium: A View from Estadio Azteca

In January, I sat in a small cafe on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street in Saigon, reading about a concert at Estadio GNP Seguros - the current commercial name of Estadio Azteca, the football cathedral of Mexico. The artist NSQK will perform there on January 23, 2027, with tickets starting at 732 pesos and going up to nearly 4,900 pesos. I read this news not because I care about NSQK's music - I don't know who he is - but because of the stadium. A football stadium hosting a concert is nothing new. But the way they do it, the way they sell tickets, the way they call it "our first stadium," it caught my attention. I have followed football long enough to know that sometimes the most important news lies where no one is looking.

In Vietnam, we often think of stadiums as places just for football. But globally, the multi-purpose stadium model has existed for a long time. Real Madrid's Bernabeu, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, or the Allianz Arena in Munich - all are being redesigned to host football, concerts, commercial events, and conferences. This is not just about business. It is a way for a club to seek stable revenue streams outside of matchdays, while still maintaining its football identity. Estadio Azteca - now Estadio GNP Seguros - is a prime example. It is the home of Club America, one of Mexico's biggest clubs, and will host the 2026 World Cup. But it is also a commercial asset. The name GNP Seguros comes from a naming rights deal with an insurance company - a model European clubs have long adopted, but in Mexico it carries different meaning. It shows that a stadium cannot survive on football tickets alone.

What stands out is not the concert, but the ticketing structure and event operations. Tickets were divided into multiple phases: Fans, Banamex, then General. Banamex is a major Mexican bank, and having a dedicated ticket phase for its customers is a model European football clubs are increasingly adopting. In Vietnam, we have seen this on a smaller scale - V.League clubs sometimes have priority ticket phases for members or banking partners. But the scale and professionalism here are different. A concert at a football stadium is not just about renting space. It is an entire logistics system: pitch protection, crowd management, coordination with the stadium operator, and of course, the home team's fixture schedule.

I have witnessed something similar in Vietnam. In 2026, Thong Nhat Stadium was used for a major music event. Afterwards, the pitch was significantly damaged, affecting several subsequent matches for Saigon FC. The coaching staff had to cope with an uneven surface, and players had to adapt to how the ball bounced differently. That is a lesson anyone following Vietnamese football remembers. So when I read about the concert at Estadio GNP Seguros, my first question was not about NSQK, but about the pitch. Can they protect it? Will Club America have to play on a patched-up surface afterwards? And more importantly, who is responsible for those losses?

The answer lies in how modern stadiums are operated. At Estadio GNP Seguros, event organizers typically use pitch protection covers - plastic or composite materials laid over the grass to bear the weight of the stage, sound equipment, and tens of thousands of spectators. After the event, they inspect and replace the turf if needed. These costs are usually borne by the renter or built into the rental contract. At major European stadiums, replacing turf after a large event can cost hundreds of thousands of euros, but it is considered a normal operating expense. In Vietnam, the problem often lies in rental contracts not clearly specifying pitch maintenance responsibilities, leaving the home club to handle it themselves. That is a gap in football asset management we need to address.

But the story is not just about the pitch. When a football stadium hosts a non-football event, it is making a bet on its brand. That stadium is no longer just a place where a team plays. It becomes a cultural venue, a symbol of the city. In Mexico City, Estadio Azteca is one of the most famous stadiums in the world - where Pele and Maradona wrote history. The fact that it is being used for a concert by a young artist like NSQK signals a shift in how stadiums position themselves. They do not just want to serve football fans. They want to serve people who never watch football. That is an audience expansion strategy, and it can bring in far more revenue than selling football tickets alone.

However, there is a downside that few talk about. When a stadium spends too much time on non-football events, it can erode its football identity. Football fans - the most loyal ones, who come to the stadium every week - sometimes feel abandoned. They see their home ground becoming an event venue, where people come for music and leave, not caring about the team. In a way, that is the price of commercialization. But does it have to be that way? Clubs like Barcelona and Real Madrid have proven you can host concerts while maintaining football identity, as long as you know how to balance. The secret lies in the message: the stadium does not belong to the concert. It belongs to the community, and the concert is just a guest.

What can we learn from this story in Vietnam? First, the importance of professionally managing football assets. A stadium is not just a place to play football. It is a valuable asset, and it needs to be operated as such. Second, it is an opportunity for V.League clubs to seek new revenue streams. Concerts, other sporting events, fairs - all can generate revenue, as long as you have a pitch maintenance plan and a reasonable fixture schedule. Third, it is a lesson in retaining fans. When a stadium opens its doors to non-football events, you can attract a new audience. But you must also ensure that your most loyal fans still feel respected.

I remember once, a few years ago, I went to Hang Day Stadium to watch a Hanoi FC match. A few days earlier, the stadium had hosted a music event. The pitch showed signs of damage, and players had to play more long balls because the surface was uneven. I sat in the stands, hearing a fan next to me say: "A football stadium that keeps doing music - is it still a football stadium?" That sentence haunted me. It shows that fans do not oppose stadiums making money. They oppose stadiums being turned into something that is no longer theirs. That is the fragile line that anyone managing a stadium must understand.

Back to Estadio GNP Seguros. NSQK's concert will take place in January 2027, after the 2026 World Cup. That is a carefully chosen time. The World Cup is the top priority, and no one wants to risk damaging the pitch before a global event. The fact that they scheduled the concert after the World Cup shows they understand priorities. That is a planning lesson Vietnamese clubs can learn. When you have an important asset, you must know what matters more.

But the story has a deeper layer. When a football stadium becomes a multi-purpose event venue, it is changing the relationship between football and community. Fans do not just come to the stadium for football. They come to experience a space. If that space is also where they watch music, meet friends, and participate in other activities, that relationship becomes deeper. That is what top clubs worldwide are trying to build. They turn the stadium into a home, not just a playing field.

However, that requires a different management mindset. It is not just about tickets and sponsorship contracts. It is about understanding that the stadium is part of the community - both the football community and the wider community. And when you open your stadium for a concert, you are opening it to a new group of people who may never attend a football match. That is an opportunity to introduce them to football, and also a risk that they will only see the stadium as a regular entertainment venue.

I do not know what NSQK's concert will be like. I do not know if Estadio GNP Seguros' pitch will be damaged. I do not know if Club America will be affected. But I know this story is not just about a concert. It is about how football is changing, how stadiums are changing, and how we perceive a football stadium. A football stadium is no longer just a place for 90 minutes of play. It is a cultural asset, a community center, and in many cases, a money-making machine.

In Vietnam, we stand at a similar crossroads. Our stadiums can also become multi-purpose venues, if we know how to manage them. But we must learn from others' mistakes, and we must maintain our football identity. I believe that is possible. I have seen the power of the Vietnamese football community in the hardest times. If we apply that same solidarity to stadium management, we can turn our stadiums into places where both football fans and new audiences feel welcome.

The only remaining question is: when we open our stadiums to non-football events, who are we opening them for, and do we keep the door open for those who were there from the beginning? That is a question anyone concerned about the future of Vietnamese football must answer.