March 27 (Reuters) - Workers are hammering, cranes are swinging and seats are being bolted into place — but the clock is ticking. Mexico City's famous Azteca stadium, reborn as Estadio Banorte, is in a frantic race to be ready for its grand reopening on Saturday.
Drone footage showed crews installing seats and attaching the new stadium name to the facade, with cranes looming overhead 48 hours before the gates are due to open for a high-profile friendly between Mexico and Portugal.
For residents, the breakneck pace of construction has done little to inspire confidence.
"I know they are working practically seven days a week, 24 hours a day, trying to finish it," local resident Emilio Castrejon told Reuters. "But what I've heard is that it's very complicated for them to finish it."
The venue will host five matches at this year's World Cup, co-hosted by Mexico, the U.S. and Canada, and the opening ceremony on June 11.
It will also become the first stadium to host matches at three World Cups, having also done so in 1970 and 1986.
MANY RENOVATIONS
Renovation work has included new seating, upgraded locker rooms, improved lighting, enhanced digital infrastructure and a rebuilt pedestrian bridge linking the light-rail station and bus terminal in the surrounding Huipulco neighbourhood.
Roads and sidewalks in the wider area have also been repaved and modernised.
The project has been plagued with delays from the outset. Resident Elizabeth Herrera acknowledged the disruption but pointed to deeper frustrations.
"I understand the annoyance of the neighbours," she said. "What I don't like is that it was very rushed. They knew for a long time in advance that some World Cup matches would be held here; and there was a lot of time to do it."
However, not everyone is downbeat. Ana Dominguez said the broader transformation of the area gave her hope.
"It gives me more security," she said. "Renovations are difficult even in our homes. A renovation is difficult, but after all, when it's finished, you see the change. I wanted to sit here in the garden to visualize. This was an area that you couldn't walk through comfortably, not only drugs, street stands."
The stadium has passed its final audio and video tests in the presence of football authorities — a key milestone confirming its readiness. Saturday's match against Portugal will be the ultimate stress test.
A banner draped near the stadium read "The ball returns home".
Whether home is truly ready remains, for now, an open question.
(Reporting by Diego Delgado, Liamar Ramos. Writing by Angelica Medina in Mexico City, editing by Ed Osmond)
