Falling in love with the architecture he saw on its streets, German naturalist Alexander von Humboldt named Mexico City in the 19th century "The City of Palaces."

On the 21st century, that tradition of marvelous buildings continues, now thanks to the architecture of a building erected for sports and entertainment: Arena Ciudad de México.

Five-thousand tons of structural steel, 25,000 tons of reinforced steel, 100,000 cubic meters of concrete in a 25,000-square-meter building area and a 45-meter height are the main ingredients of the arena, which will host two NBA regular-season games, on Thursday and Saturday.

Two years of construction and a $300 million investment made the arena possible. We think Von Humboldt, widely considered as the father of modern universal geography, would be pleased by its aesthetics and functionality.

Mexico City is home to some of the most important sporting venues in Latin America, such as the Azteca Stadium, a venue that has hosted two soccer World Cup finals (1970 and 1986), and the Olympic University Stadium, which hosted the 1968 Summer Games.

In such tradition, the Juan de la Barrera Gymnasium and the Palacio de los Deportes were, at the turn of the 20th century, the venues that hosted the most important contest of one of Mexico's favorite sports: basketball.

As time went by, both stadiums became obsolete. Understanding the need for a renewal, in 2009 the project for Arena Ciudad de México got started.

Mexico understood a maxim: If the country was known for its huge sporting venues -- Azteca Stadium was for many years one of the world's largest facilities -- Arena Ciudad de México, in contrast, had to be known for something other than pure size. It had to be built around the thinking of a nice experience for those attending, with functionality, security and comfort.

"It's a concept which allows all of those attending the arena to enjoy the experience, but we had to take it to the max. We compared ourselves to Madison Square Garden, in New York, or Los Angeles' own Staples Center," said Alberto Familiar, corporate director of Grupo Avalanz, which owns the arena.

"In contrast to an outdoor stadium, arenas are all about comfort, security and the enjoyment of services for those attending. That's why we had to think of covering all bases," Familiar added.

Players warm up prior to a scheduled TWolves-Spurs game in November, 2013. The game was canceled because of smoke caused by an electrical issue. The NBA has returned to Arena Ciudad de Mexico once in each season since for a regular-seaon game. Miguel Tovar/LatinContent/Getty Images

Arena Ciudad de México spared no expenses on every important detail. It has 124 luxury suites, a closed-circuit TV system with 800 screens all across the building, 5,000 parking spots, two heliports and 300 security cameras.

As the crown jewel, the place hosts a large 600-square-meter HD-LED video screen, considered one of the most impressive of its kind in the world.

"It's not as large as the one they have in the Dallas Cowboys' facility [AT&T Stadium], but in its proportion, when you consider the size of both venues, our screen is surely more impactful," Familiar said.

Located in an industrial area north of Mexico City, the arena started its construction on March 18, 2009. It opened on Feb. 25, 2012. The Kaplan, McLaughlin, Diaz Architect firm, which has Detroit's Ford Stadium on its résumé, was responsible for the project.

With a total capacity of 22,300, depending on the event, Arena Ciudad de México is the culmination of efforts that Grupo Avalanz started years before with Arena Monterrey, which is also owned by the corporation, located in Monterrey, the capital city of the state of Nuevo Leon.

Latin America's best

In recent years, the NBA Latin American tour has had stops in Arena Monterrey, the Coliseo de Puerto Rico and Arena Ciudad de México.

Of all of those buildings, Mexico City's arena has the highest ratings for its modern design, construction costs and overall facilities.

Arena Monterrey, which opened on November 2003, is able to host 17,599, but was built on a leaner $50 million budget. The Coliseo de Puerto Rico, also named after José Miguel Agrelot, a popular comedian born in the island, had a $252.5 million price tag and opened in September 2004.

Between 2005 and 2006, the Coliseo hosted a series of NBA preseason games, taking advantage of the novelty of the place, which hosts up to 17,024 people for a hoops contest.

In spite of all of this, the fact Arena Ciudad de México is hosting two regular-season NBA games over three days is a testament to the facility's overall quality, recognized by the league.

Compared to U.S. venues, Arena Ciudad de México will be on the same range of Staples Center, which has a 18,900 capacity for Lakers games. However Staples Center, also home to the Clippers, had a larger construction budget, of $375 million.

Currently, the most modern (and expensive, in terms of construction) NBA arenas are Barclays Center, home of the Brooklyn Nets, with its $1 billion price tag; and Sacramento's Golden 1 Center, where the Kings play, which was financed with a $558 million budget.

Read the original Spanish-language version of this story here.