Estadio Azteca wraps a $300M facelift for the 2026 World Cup opener. Days before kickoff, Kraken becomes FIFA's Official Crypto Exchange Supporter.
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Estadio Azteca, the Mexico City venue that hosted World Cup finals in 1970 and 1986, finished a nearly $300 million renovation in time for the June 11, 2026 opener. Mexico faces South Africa in that match. Two days before kickoff, Kraken was named the Official Crypto Exchange Supporter of the 2026 World Cup.
The renovation work began in May 2024 and wrapped early this year. Capacity rose from about 83,000 to between 87,500 and 90,000 spectators. New LED video boards and upgraded lighting and sound systems were installed. Locker rooms and seating were modernized. The stadium will carry the name Estadio Banorte for the tournament, reflecting the naming-rights deal with the Mexican bank. The BBC's Will Grant toured the finished product ahead of the opener.
Kraken's branding will appear across the tournament, which runs from June 11 to July 19. The partnership puts a crypto exchange's name in front of billions of viewers as a core tournament supporter. This is not a digital-collectibles or NFT deal; the focus is on broadcast and in-venue exposure. It follows Algorand's earlier FIFA tie-up, which powered blockchain-based collectibles for previous events.
The deal arrives after the collapse of FTX, which held naming rights to the Miami Heat's arena. That cautionary tale still hangs over sports-crypto sponsorships. Kraken's arrangement as an official supporter, rather than a naming-rights holder, involves a different risk profile.
No crypto token or NFT is tied specifically to the Azteca renovation. The crypto integration sits at the FIFA partnership level, not the venue. The tournament's 16 host cities include Azteca for the opener and several other matches.
The partnership is the latest in a series of crypto-sports deals. AlphaScala previously covered Crypto Takes World Cup Stage with Kraken, Avalanche Deals.
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