Nuevo Mestalla

Key facts

Club: Valencia CF | Capacity: 74,000 seats | Scheduled opening: 2014 | Status: works halted

Description

Nuevo Mestalla, or Nou Mestalla, is the planned new stadium of Valencia CF. The project was presented at the end of 2006 and building works started in August 2007. However, in February 2009 works were halted due to funding difficulties and have yet to resume.

The stadium, designed by architecture firm Arup, will have a capacity of 74,000 seats. One of its most characteristic features is its exterior consisting of 22,500 overlapping aluminium elements that are said to represent Valencia’s districts and the river Turia.

The stadium project had an original budget of €240 million, but it is estimated that at this moment €150 million is needed to complete the project. The main body of the stadium has already been finished.

Nuevo Mestalla is being built at a site towards the north of Valencia, not far from Palacio de Congresos. It lies in an area with many new developments, about 2.5 kilometres from Valencia’s city centre and 4 kilometres from Valencia’s current stadium Estadio Mestalla.

In December 2011 the mayor of Valencia and the president of the club announced that an agreement had been reached with main creditor Bankia, and that works were to resume in 2012 and expected to finish two years later. Some aspects of the project are said to have been changed though, among which the roof structure which will now be of illuminating blue glass.

The current expectation is that works on the stadium will resume in September 2012.