Plaza de Toros and Ciudad de los Deportes stadium, abandoned by their owner

Hotels, Carso group shares, textiles and even wine cellars are part of the most profitable businesses of Antonio Cosío Pando, owner of the Ciudad de los Deportes stadium, the Plaza de Toros and the Frontón México, historic properties in the capital and which have lost its luster over the decades, to the point of being on the verge of being demolished and even facing suspension in recent days due to civil protection risk.

Although both the stadium, which was born as a space for American football, and the bullring, were initially a project for a Sports City in the 1940s, which would also have a swimming pool and boxing arena, dreamed of by the businessman Yucatecan of Syrian-Lebanese origin Neguib Simón, these venues do not seem to be a priority currently for Antonio Cosío Pando, who has preferred to focus on the hotel sector.

Cosío Pando inherited the properties in the Nochebuena neighborhood from his father Antonio Cosío Ariño, which his grandfather, the Spanish Moíses Cosío Gómez, bought from Neguib Simón when he became bankrupt after his desire to build the Sports City.

Moíses Cosío Ariño, Cosío Pando’s uncle, inherited the Frontón México in the 1970s at a time marked by a strike that caused the building to close between 1987 and 1990. Upon his death in 1997, Antonio took over the administration. In the case of the Plaza de Toros, Alberto Bailleres, one of the richest men in Mexico, took administrative control from 2016 to 2021.

Although both the stadium and the Bullring have been historic in the city, their deterioration was revealed after being suspended a few days ago by Mayor Benito Juárez due to alleged overcrowding when simultaneous events were held in these buildings.

The lack of modernization has weighed on them. None of them have parking, in addition to the fact that in the bullring there are no numbered seats, while in the venue where América, Cruz Azul and Atlante play there are spaces with an aura of abandonment, such as the bathrooms, which in some cases are useless or have doors that don’t open.

As part of the oldest venues in the capital focused on shows, the Ciudad Deportiva is not profitable for Antonio Pando Cosío. He even sought to demolish the stadium in 2018 to build a shopping center, a project that was stopped by the then authorities of Mexico City, headed by the now president Claudia Sheinbaum.

Cosío Pando is the image and leader of a family that owns shares in various sectors. Behind are his father, his mother Ramona In practice Pando Mundet, as well as his siblings Sofía, Ramona and Santiago, director of the Bodegas Santo Tomás winery.

Graduated from Tec de Monterrey as an industrial engineer, Antonio Cosío Pando directed his business interests in sectors far from the Sports City project. He amassed his fortune in the 1990s after the wave of privatizations by the then Mexican government by investing in sectors such as hotels, construction, telephone, textiles and even banking.

As a man close to the Slim family, Cosío Pando is currently an independent director of Grupo Carso, the financial consortium Inbursa and Aeroméxico. He was an independent director of Kimberly Clark and Moctezuma cements, he is the owner of the industrial company Tepejí del Río and a member of the board of directors of Bodegas Santo Tomás.

Its main jewel is the hotel sector with Grupo Brisas, which has properties in Acapulco, Ixtapa, Manzanillo and Querétaro, as well as Nizuc Resort & Spa in the Riviera Maya, which has been considered among the best resort of the world.

Just last year, Grupo Brisas inaugurated the Galería Plaza Monterrey hotel, a luxurious nine-story complex with 206 rooms, built with an investment of 750 million pesos. The work is just the first of a series of properties that they intend to build under the same concept in León, Guanajuato and Mexico City.

In contrast, Cosío Pando has not spoken regarding future plans for the Ciudad de los Deportes stadium since its demolition was thwarted in 2018. For now, he managed to reopen these properties, which, although they are not the most modern and lack certain basic elements, such as parking, are emblems of the capital.