Nou Mestalla (Valencian pronunciation: [ˈnɔw mesˈtaʎa]) is a partially built football stadium in Valencia, Spain, intended as a replacement for Valencia's current stadium, the Mestalla. The basic concrete structure of the stadium was built between August 2007 and February 2009, but work was then halted for financial reasons. The design was revised in 2013 with a reduced capacity.[4]

Nou Mestalla
Model of Nou Mestalla

UEFA

Map
Coordinates39°29′22″N 0°23′47″W / 39.48944°N 0.39639°W / 39.48944; -0.39639
Public transit Beniferri (Lines 1 and 2)
OwnerValencia CF
OperatorValencia CF
Capacity50,000[2][3]
Field size105 m × 68 m (344 ft × 223 ft)
SurfaceGrass
Construction
Broke ground1 August 2007
Opened2024 (planned)[1]
Construction cost287–350 million
ArchitectRFA Fenwick Iribarren Architects
ArupSport
Structural engineerArup
Services engineerGI Grup
Tenants
Valencia CF (2024)
State of the stadium in 2013

The stadium architects are Reid Fenwick Asociados and ArupSport, and the cost is estimated between €250 million and €300 million. The design features a futuristic exterior, clad in aluminium and an interior of wood. It is being built on the site of a former factory in the neighbourhood of Benicalap. It is one of the potential host cities for the 2030 FIFA World Cup.

History edit

The plans for the new stadium were unveiled on 10 November 2006, by former president Juan Soler and the club who unveiled details about the stadium and presented a short film about the stadium at the Museu Príncipe Felipe in Valencia. Planned capacity would have been around 80,000.

The work on the Nou Mestalla began in August 2007. It was due to be completed in the early summer 2009, in time for the 2009–10 season, but, due to financial problems, this date was never met.

On 12 December 2011, the club announced that it had negotiated a deal with Bankia to complete the stadium and transfer the old Mestalla property to the bank, and that it expected to complete the stadium in approximately two years, but this deal later collapsed.[5][6]

On 13 November 2013, Valencia announced an updated redesign by Fenwick Iribarren Architects. The new design reduced the capacity to 61,500. It also reduced the underground car park and downsized the original design's full roof and elaborate façade. There were also redesigns of the interior decoration. No date was given for when construction would restart.[7][8][9] However, the construction was not renewed since then.

On 3 October 2017, Valencia announced they will begin negotiations with Valencia's city council to renew the project and complete the building process of the Nou Mestalla.[10]

The stadium will lose 20,000 seats compared to the original design and a modified design.[11] Because of this, the likely capacity when opened could be 54,000 seats, making it the seventh largest in Spain, instead of the third largest when it was originally planned.

On 28 December 2021, Anil Murthy introduced to President of the Generalitat Valenciana, Ximo Puig, the new project for finishing the venue. In the new project, the stadium will reduce its capacity to roughly 43,000-50,000 seats.[12]

Accident edit

On 26 May 2008, four construction workers lost their lives following the collapse of some scaffolding on the Nou Mestalla site. At midday on 28 May, the Unión General de Trabajadores and Workers' Commissions trade unions called a five-minute silence for the tragedy, which was observed throughout the Valencian Community in all sectors of industry.[13]

References edit

  1. ^ "El Valencia da el visto bueno a la oferta por la parcela de Mestalla". marca.com. 12 December 2019. Archived from the original on 2020-12-24. Retrieved 2019-12-13.
  2. ^ 20 minutos. "El Valencia reducirá en sesenta millones de euros el coste del nuevo estadio de Mestalla".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ designbuild-network.com. "Nou Mestalla Stadium, Valencia".
  4. ^ "Design: Nou Mestalla – StadiumDB.com". Archived from the original on 2020-12-24. Retrieved 2018-04-05.
  5. ^ "Nou Mestalla not likely to open until 2012/2013 season". April 29, 2010. Archived from the original on August 20, 2011. Retrieved 2011-04-26.
  6. ^ "La casa del valencianismo - Superdeporte". 12 December 2011. Archived from the original on 2013-06-25. Retrieved 2011-12-12.
  7. ^ "Valencia: New plan to deliver Nou Mestalla, smaller and cheaper". Stadium db. Nov 2013. Archived from the original on 2018-07-07. Retrieved 2014-01-01.
  8. ^ "Valencia unveil new-look, cost-cutting Nou Mestalla". Inside Spanish Football. 14 November 2012. Archived from the original on 2 January 2014. Retrieved 2014-01-01.
  9. ^ "Introducing the new 'bare bones' Mestalla". Marca. 13 November 2013. Archived from the original on 2020-12-24. Retrieved 2014-01-01.
  10. ^ "Comunicado Oficial". Valencia CF (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2020-12-24. Retrieved 2017-10-03.
  11. ^ "Valencia: Smaller and more slender new Mestalla". StadiumDb. 6 October 2017. Archived from the original on 24 December 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  12. ^ "El Nuevo Mestalla contará con un aforo ampliable hasta 60.000. As per today 08/03/2022 VALENCIA C. de F. present the documentation for the new stadium that will resume the works on October 2022 and will be completed on July 2024". AS.com (in Spanish). 2021-12-29. Retrieved 2022-01-05.
  13. ^ "Concentración silenciosa por los obreros fallecidos". El País. 28 May 2008. Archived from the original on 2020-12-24. Retrieved 2008-05-28.

External links edit