A person has died in Mexico City’s newly renovated Estadio Banorte after falling from a box seat area before the stadium’s reopening match on Saturday, security officials said.
Authorities said the man was intoxicated and attempted to leap from the second-level box seats to the first level by climbing along the outside of the structure before falling to the bottom floor, Reuters reported.
The accident occurred just because the stadium, which is scheduled to host the FIFA 2026 World Cup opening ceremony later this summer, hosted a friendly match between Mexico and Portugal. The match was intended to function a stress test for the power, previously often known as the Azteca Stadium.
Shortly after the incident, the Mexico City Prosecutor’s Office (MCPO) released a press release, saying, “The Mexico City Prosecutor’s Office is investigating the death of a person who occurred on March 28 inside Estadio Banorte, prior to the beginning of a friendly match of the Mexican National Team.”
“In accordance with initial reports, the incident took place within the suite area of the venue, from where the person fell to the parking area, leading to their death. The Mexico City Prosecutor’s Office will proceed the investigations thoroughly and can keep the general public informed as relevant developments are obtained.
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“Moreover, evaluation of CCTV footage from the stadium and its entrances is underway, as is the gathering of statements from individuals who were on the scene, with the aim of accurately reconstructing the sequence of events and determining potential liability,” it wrote.
“Similarly, the statutory post-mortem procedure is currently underway to ascertain with certainty the reason behind death, in addition to the physical condition of the person on the time of the autumn.”
On Sunday, the Mexican Football Federation (FMF) posted a press release, sharing condolences for the death of the fan and said its priority is “safeguarding the protection of those inside stadiums.”
The identity of the fan has not been publicly released on the time of this writing.
The Banorte Stadium is slated to host five matches, including the inaugural match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup between Mexico and South Africa on June 11.
This isn’t the primary time a sports fan has faced injuries after falling from the stands.
Last April, a baseball fan was in critical condition after falling 6.4 metres from the Clemente Wall in right field at PNC Park during a game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs.
Right after Andrew McCutchen hit a two-run double within the seventh inning, putting the Pirates ahead 4-3, players began waving frantically for medical personnel and pointing to the person who had fallen onto the warning track.
One other fan had jumped from a lower section of the outfield wall to assist the one who fell.
The fan who had fallen was tended to for roughly five minutes by members of the Pirates and Cubs training staffs, in addition to PNC personnel, before being placed on a stretcher and faraway from the sector on a cart.
Pittsburgh Public Safety said he was taken to the hospital in critical condition and that police were investigating.
The sport was delayed for about 10 minutes before resuming in the underside of the seventh inning. Many players were seen taking a knee.
The fan, identified as Kavan Markwood, spoke publicly about his fall last May, telling the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review he had “broken the whole lot.”
He said that he had many back and neck injuries and said, “I’m all right. I can’t really sleep. I actually have lots of back pain.”
Global News has reached out to FIFA for further comment.
— With files from Reuters
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