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Mestalla Stadium ( es, Estadio de Mestalla , ca-valencia, Estadi de Mestalla ) is a
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...
in
Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...
, Spain. The stadium is the home of
Valencia Club de Fútbol Valencia Club de Fútbol (, ca-valencia, València Club de Futbol ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF (or simply Valencia) is a professional football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top flight of the Sp ...
and has a capacity of 48,600 seats, making it the 8th-largest stadium in Spain, and the largest in the
Valencian Community The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid with ...
. The stadium's name originates from the historic irrigation canal of Mestalla, which was originally outside the south stand of the stadium and had to be jumped over in order to get to the ground. The North Stand of the stadium is known for its very steep section.


History

The Estadio Mestalla was inaugurated with a friendly match on 20 May 1923 between
Valencia CF Valencia Club de Fútbol (, ca-valencia, València Club de Futbol ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF (or simply Valencia) is a professional football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top flight of the Spa ...
and
Levante UD Levante Unión Deportiva, S.A.D. (, ca-valencia, Llevant Unió Esportiva ) is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club in Valencia, in the Valencian Community, namesake autonomous community. Founded on 9 September 1909, Levante ...
. The new stadium had a capacity of 17,000 spectators, which was increased to 25,000 four years later. During the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, the Mestalla was used as a
concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...
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 Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...
of 60,000 spectators. It was severely damaged by the flood of October 1957 when the
Turia River The Turia or Túria ( ca-valencia, Riu Túria ; es, link=no, Río Turia ; la, Tūria) is a river in Spain, which has its source in the Montes Universales in the mountain ranges of the northwesternmost end of the Sistema Ibérico, Teruel pro ...
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 The Falles ( ca-valencia, Falles; es, Fallas) is a traditional celebration held annually in commemoration of Saint Joseph in the city of Valencia, Spain. The five main days celebrated are from 15 to 19 March, while the Mascletà, a pyrotechnic ...
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 The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...
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. The new stadium is due to have a capacity of 61,500.


Internationals and Cup Finals

Mestalla held the
Spain national football team The Spain national football team ( es, Selección Española de Fútbol) has represented Spain in international men's football competitions since 1920. It is governed by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in ...
for the first time in 1925. It was chosen the national team's group venue when Spain staged the
1982 World Cup The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain between 13 June and 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy, who defeated West Germany 3–1 i ...
, and at the
1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...
held in
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, 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 A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay, ...
finals, has also been a temporary home for
Levante UD Levante Unión Deportiva, S.A.D. (, ca-valencia, Llevant Unió Esportiva ) is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club in Valencia, in the Valencian Community, namesake autonomous community. Founded on 9 September 1909, Levante ...
, home of the
Spain national football team The Spain national football team ( es, Selección Española de Fútbol) has represented Spain in international men's football competitions since 1920. It is governed by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in ...
and exile for Castellón and
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
in the European Cup. Mestalla hosted four
El Clásico El Clásico or el clásico (; ca, El Clàssic, ; ) is the name given to any football match between rival clubs FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. Originally referring to competitions held in the Spanish championship, the term now includes every m ...
finals in
Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footbal ...
between
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
and
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
, with
1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...
,
1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...
,
2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
and
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
. In total the stadium hosted ten Copa del Rey finals with the first one played in 1926.


1982 FIFA World Cup

The stadium was one of the venues of the
1982 FIFA World Cup The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain between 13 June and 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy national foo ...
(known as ''Luis Casanova Stadium'' at the time of the tournament), and held the following matches:


Transport

Metro: Aragón station (Lines 5 and 7)
Metrovalencia Metrovalencia is an urban rail system serving a large part of the metropolitan area of Valencia. The network is a modern amalgamation of former FEVE narrow gauge electric operated suburban railways. It is a large suburban network that crosses ...
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


External links


The new Mestalla

Estadios de España
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mestalla Valencia CF Football venues in Valencia 1982 FIFA World Cup stadiums Venues of the 1992 Summer Olympics Olympic football venues Tourist attractions in Valencia Sports venues completed in 1923 1923 establishments in Spain Buildings and structures in Valencia