Valencia stadium: A new home ground is still in progress

Valencia have played at the Mestalla since 1923 until now and are waiting for their new home with a larger capacity, probably in the next year.

By: Harry Siuu

09/14/2021 01:36

What was the first home ground of Valencia?

In the first four years from the inception of the club, Valencia played at a small stadium called Algiros in their city. In 1923, they moved to Mestalla and are still playing there after almost 100 years.

Mestalla is also known as one of the oldest football stadiums in Spain. Originally, it was a 17,000-capacity stadium, but after several times being restructured, now Mestalla holds 48,600 spectators, including 49,500 seats.

The Mestalla field was opened on May 20, 1923, with a friendly match between Valencia and Levante UD. Valencia's ground saw the most significant transformation in its history throughout the 1950s. The project resulted in a stadium with a seating capacity of 45,500 people, which was later destroyed by a flood in October 1957 caused by the Turia River overflowing. Nonetheless, the Mestalla was not only restored to its former glory, but it also received some further enhancements, like artificial lighting, which was introduced during the 1959 Fallas festivities.

Nottingham Forest was the first foreign side to play in the Mestalla in the 1960s, on September 15, 1961. Back in 1925, Mestalla hosted the Spanish national football team for the first time. When Spain hosted the 1982 FIFA World Cup and the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, it was designated as the national team's group venue. Up to the final, all of Spain's matches were staged in Mestalla, where they won gold.

Mestalla has hosted major international matches, as well as many Cup finals, and served as the home of Levante. Due to stadium construction, the pitch also served as a temporary home for Castellón and Real Madrid for European games.

The stadium was renamed Estadio Luis Casanova in 1969, in honor of club president Luis Casanova Giner. The name change lasted for a quarter-century until Casanova acknowledged that such an honor had overwhelmed him and requested in 1994 that the stadium's name be changed back to Mestalla.

The club's headquarters, positioned in the back of the numbered terraces, opened in 1972. It consisted of an avant-garde office with a trophy hall that housed the club's original flag. Another alteration at Mestalla came in the summer of 1973, with the insertion of goal seats, which marked the end of fourteen rows of standing room terraces.

Mestalla stadium

Mestalla stadium

The plan for a new stadium

The designs for the new stadium were introduced on November 10, 2006, at the Museu Principe Felipe in Valencia, by former president Juan Soler and the club, who revealed specifics about the stadium and showed a short film about it. The planned capacity was about 80,000 people. Nou Mestalla began construction in August 2007. It was supposed to be finished in early summer 2009, in time for the 2009–10 season, but owing to financial difficulties, it never happened. The club stated on December 12, 2011, that it had reached an agreement with Bankia to construct the stadium and transfer the old Mestalla site to the bank, and that it planned to finish the stadium in two years, however, the arrangement fell through.

Design of Nou Mestalla

Design of Nou Mestalla

Valencia revealed a revised redesign by Fenwick Iribarren Architects on November 13, 2013. The capacity was lowered to 61,500 with the new design. It also decreased the original design's complete roof and ornate façade, as well as the subterranean parking garage. There were additional changes to the interior design. There was no indication of when building might resume. The structure, however, has not been updated since then.

Valencia stated on October 3rd, 2017 that they would restart discussions with Valencia's municipal council to revive the project and complete the Nou Mestalla construction process. In comparison to the original and updated plans, the venue will lose 20,000 seats. As a result, when it opens, it might have a capacity of 54,000 seats, making it the seventh-largest stadium in Spain instead of the third-largest as initially expected.

Nou Mestalla in progress

Nou Mestalla in progress

Some facts about Valencia

Origin

Valencia, or Valencia Club de Fútbol, is a professional football club based in Valencia, Spain, hence the name. The club is also known under the nickname Los murciélagos, meaning The Bats, as the symbol featured in their logo. They were founded on 18 March 1919 with the initial name being Valencia Futbol Club.

Valencia are currently playing in the top-flight La Liga, and the fourth-most supported club in Spain, after the three giants Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid. They were a member of the G-14, a group of top-notch European football clubs that existed within 10 years from 1998 to 2008. Currently, Valencia are managed by head coach Jose Bordalas since the 2021-22 season.

Valencia logo

Valencia logo

Achievements

1. Domestic

La Liga

Winners (6): 1941–42, 1943–44, 1946–47, 1970–71, 2001–02, 2003–04
Runners-up (6): 1947–48, 1948–49, 1952–53, 1971–72, 1989–90, 1995–96

Segunda Division

Winners (2): 1930–31, 1986–87

Copa del Rey

Winners (8): 1941, 1948–49, 1954, 1966–67, 1978–79, 1998–99, 2007–08, 2018–19
Runners-up (9): 1934, 1944, 1944–45, 1946, 1952, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1994–95

Supercopa de España