Its official name Estadio José María Morelos y Pavón honors a hero of the Mexican War of Independence.

In 1984, two years before the 1986 FIFA World Cup held in Mexico, it was officially announced that Morelia would be one of the sites for the tournament, and a scale model of the new stadium was shown, very similar in capacity and structure to the Estadio Corregidora of Santiago de Querétaro, and would be located in the Southeast of the city, on the current grounds of the sport unit of Adolfo López Mateos.

The World Cup site was transferred to the Estadio Sergio León Chavez, in Irapuato.

Following the league tournaments of 1986–1987 1987–1988, despite not reaching the finals, the local side put on 2 brilliant displays in the liguilla.

On February 16, 2016, during his first visit to Mexico, Pope Francis spoke to an estimated 50,000 young people at the stadium.