Mestalla Stadium

Mestalla

Full name	Mestalla
Former names	Estadio Luís Casanova (1969—1994)
Location	Avenida Suecia, s/n 46010 - Valencia
Coordinates
Owner	Valencia Club de Fútbol
Operator	Valencia Club de Fútbol
Capacity	55,000
Field size	105 m × 68 m (344 ft × 223 ft)
Surface	grass
Construction
Broke ground	1923
Opened	20 May 1923
Architect	Francisco Almenar Quinzá
Tenants
Valencia Club de Fútbol (1923—present)

Mestalla Stadium (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 ground of Valencia Club de Fútbol. With a capacity of 55,000 seats, it ranks as the fifth-largest stadium in Spain.

History

The Estadio Mestalla was inaugurated with a friendly match on 20 May 1923 between Valencia CF and Levante UD 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. 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.

During the 1950s the Mestalla was renovated, resulting in a stadium with a seating capacity of 45,500 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.

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 constructed in 2007 but is yet to be completed. The new stadium is due to have a capacity of 61,500.

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, 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.

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 Spanish national 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.

1982 FIFA World Cup

The stadium was one of the venues of the 1982 FIFA World Cup, and held the following matches:

Date	Team #1	Res.	Team #2	Round
1982-06-16	Spain	1–1	Honduras	Group 5 (First Round)
1982-06-20	Spain	2–1	Yugoslavia	Group 5 (First Round)
1982-06-25	Spain	0–1	Northern Ireland	Group 5 (First Round)

External links

• The new Mestalla
• Estadios de Espana (English)