Mestalla Stadium

Mestalla (Spanish: Estadio de Mestalla [esˈtaðjo ðe mesˈtaʎa], Valencian: Estadi de Mestalla [esˈtaði ðe mesˈtaʎa]) is a football stadium in Valencia, Spain. The stadium is the home of Valencia Club de Fútbol and has a capacity of 48,600 seats,[2] making it the 5th-largest stadium in Spain, and the largest in the Valencian Community.[3] The North Stand of the stadium is known for its very steep section.[4]

Mestalla Stadium
Former namesEstadio Luis Casanova (1969–1994)
LocationAvenida Suecia, s/n
46010 - Valencia
Coordinates39°28′28.76″N 0°21′30.10″W
Public transit Aragón (Lines 5 and 7)
Capacity48,600 [1]
Field size105 m × 68 m (344 ft × 223 ft)
Surfacegrass/sand
Construction
Broke ground1923
Opened20 May 1916
Renovated2005-2019
Expanded2007
Construction cost316,439.20 pts (Purchase of Land)
ArchitectFrancisco Almenar Quinzá
Tenants
Valencia CF (1923–present)
Spain national football team (selected matches)

History

The Estadio Mestalla was inaugurated with a friendly match on 20 May 1923 between Valencia CF and Levante UD.[5] The new stadium had a capacity of 17,000 spectators, which was increased to 25,000 four years later. During the Civil War, the Mestalla was used as a concentration camp and storage warehouse.[6] It would only keep its structure, since the rest was an empty plot of land with no terraces and a grandstand damaged during the war.

Inauguration day, 20 May 1923.

During the 1950s, the Mestalla was renovated, resulting in a stadium with a seating capacity of 60,000 spectators. It was severely damaged by the flood of October 1957 when the Turia River broke its banks. The stadium soon returned to operational use with some more improvements, such as the addition of artificial lighting, and was inaugurated during the 1959 Fallas festivities.

In 1969, the stadium's name was changed to Estadio Luis Casanova, to honour club president Luis Casanova Giner. The change lasted for a quarter of a century, when Casanova admitted that he was completely overwhelmed by such an honour and requested in 1994 that the stadium's name be returned to Mestalla.[7]

1972 saw the inauguration of the club's head office, located in the back of the numbered terraces. It consisted of an office designed in the avant-garde style with a trophy hall, which held the flag the club was founded on. The summer of 1973 ushered in another change at Mestalla, the introduction of goal seats, which meant the elimination of fourteen rows of standing room terraces.

Future

A replacement stadium, Nou Mestalla, started construction in 2007, but is yet to be completed.[8] The new stadium is due to have a capacity of 61,500.[9]

Internationals and Cup Finals

Mestalla held the Spain national football team for the first time in 1925. It was chosen the national team's group venue when Spain staged the 1982 World Cup,[10] and at the 1992 Summer Olympics held in Barcelona, all of Spain's matches up to the final were held at Mestalla, as they won Gold.[11][12]

Mestalla has been the setting for important international matches, has held nine cup finals, has also been a temporary home for Levante UD, home of the Spain national football team and exile for Castellón and Real Madrid in the European Cup. Mestalla hosted the 2011 Copa del Rey Final between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid C.F., and the 2014 Copa del Rey Final between the same two teams. In total the stadium hosted ten Copa del Rey finals with the first one played in 1926.[13]

1982 FIFA World Cup

The stadium was one of the venues of the 1982 FIFA World Cup (known as Luis Casanova Stadium at the time of the tournament), and held the following matches:

Date Team #1 Res. Team #2 Round Attendance
1982-06-16 Spain1–1 HondurasGroup 5 (First Round)49,562
1982-06-20 Spain2–1 YugoslaviaGroup 5 (First Round)48,000
1982-06-25 Spain0–1 Northern IrelandGroup 5 (First Round)49,562

Transport

Metro:

Aragón station (Line 5) Metrovalencia
Exterior view

Aragón station (Lines 5 and 7) Metrovalencia

Facultats station (Lines 3 and 9) Metrovalencia

Bus lines:

Amadeo of Savoia street in: line 32.

Reyes Prosper street: line 71.

Avenida de Aragón: lines 10, 12, 80, 41 and 79

Avenida Blasco Ibáñez: lines 10, 29, 30, 31, 71, 79, 81, 89 and 90.

References
  1. https://www.marca.com/en/football/spanish-football/album/2020/03/29/5e80d2f5e2704efb188b45e0_6.html
  2. Cué, Carlos E. (28 April 2019). "Fear and fury: a divided Spain goes to the polls". El País. ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  3. "Mestalla the pearl of Valencia · Nest Hostels Valencia". Nest Hostels Valencia. 1 July 2013. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  4. "Some of the world's scariest places to play or watch football". BBC News. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  5. "mestalla - vcfestadios". Google. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  6. "La Liga Stadiums: Valencia's Mestalla Stadium – Beauty of the oldest stadium in Spanish first division". The Indian Express. 24 November 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  7. "Diez cosas que quizá no sabías de Mestalla". Diez cosas que quizá no sabías de Mestalla. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  8. "Calendario y plazos para el derribo de Mestalla y el traslado al Nuevo Estadio". eldesmarque.com. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  9. "Valencia partner with Deloitte for revival of new Mestalla project - SportsPro Media". sportspromedia.com. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  10. "World Cup 1982 finals". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  11. "Football Tournament 1992 Olympiad". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  12. 1992 Summer Olympics official report. Archived 28 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine Volume 2. pp. 334-6.
  13. "Diez cosas que quizá no sabías de Mestalla". Diez cosas que quizá no sabías de Mestalla. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
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