Unidad Deportiva Mario Villanueva Madrid

Unidad Deportiva Mario Villanueva Madrid sits in the Colonia Gonzalo Guerrero neighbourhood of Playa del Carmen, where the buildings behind the stand rise in a line of white stucco and thatched roofs, visible under the floodlights.

The stadium was opened in 1999, the year Mario Villanueva Madrid ended his term as Governor of Quintana Roo, and the complex was named in his honour. It stands as the only major sports venue in the town, a fact that makes it the centre of local football life, even though the teams that play here, such as Inter Playa del Carmen, compete in lower divisions. The capacity is 7,500, a figure that reflects the scale of the town rather than the ambition of the clubs.

A major rehabilitation project was completed in August 2017, when the municipal administration spent 2.1 million pesos on the facilities. The work covered the stands, the locker rooms, the restrooms, and the lighting, bringing fifteen luminarias into use. This upgrade allowed the club to host their home leg in the grand final of the Apertura 2021 tournament, a match that brought a significant crowd to the pitch.

The most notable attendance recorded was 5,000 people for a fixture against Orgullo Surtam in May 2019, a number that shows the ground can fill when the stakes are high. The surface remains natural grass, worn by the seasons and the rain. The stands are simple concrete, without the grand architecture of a World Cup venue, but they hold the attention.