Stadium at Valencia, Spain
Mestalla Stadium
(
Spanish
:
Estadio de Mestalla
[es?taðjo
ðe
mes?ta?a]
,
Valencian
:
Estadi de Mestalla
[es?taði
ðe
mes?ta?a]
) is a
football
stadium
in
Valencia
, Spain. The stadium is the home of
Valencia
and has a capacity of 49,430 seats,
[2]
making it the 8th-largest stadium in Spain, and the largest in the
Valencian Community
.
[3]
The stadium's name originates from the historic irrigation canal of Mestalla, which was developed and consolidated during the Arab dynasty between the 10th and 11th centuries, and was originally outside the south stand of the stadium where it had to be jumped over in order to get to the ground.
[4]
[5]
The North Stand of the stadium is known for its very steep section.
[6]
History
[
edit
]
The Estadio Mestalla was inaugurated with a friendly match on 20 May 1923 between
Valencia
and
Levante
.
[7]
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.
[8]
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 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 the Mestalla.
[9]
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 the Mestalla, the introduction of goal seats, which meant the elimination of fourteen rows of standing room
terraces
.
Future
[
edit
]
A replacement stadium, the
Nou Mestalla
, started construction in 2007, but is yet to be completed.
[10]
The new stadium is due to have a capacity of 61,500.
[11]
Internationals and Cup Finals
[
edit
]
The 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
,
[12]
and at the
1992 Summer Olympics
held in
Barcelona
, all of Spain's matches up to the final were held at the Mestalla, as they won Gold.
[13]
[14]
The Mestalla has been the setting for important international matches, has held nine
cup
finals, has also been a temporary home for
Levante
, home of the
Spain national football team
and exile for
Castellon
and
Real Madrid
in the European Cup. The Mestalla hosted four
El Clasico
finals in
Copa del Rey
between
Barcelona
and
Real Madrid
, with
1936
,
1990
,
2011
and
2014
. In total the stadium hosted ten Copa del Rey finals with the first one played in 1926.
[15]
1982 FIFA World Cup
[
edit
]
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:
Transport
[
edit
]
Metro:
Arago station (Lines 5 and 7)
Metrovalencia
Facultats-Manuel Broseta station (Lines 3 and 9) Metrovalencia
Bus lines:
Amadeo of Savoia street in: line 32.
Reyes Prosper street: line 71.
Avenida de Aragon: lines 10, 12, 80, 41 and 79
Avenida Blasco Ibanez: lines 10, 29, 30, 31, 71, 79, 81, 89 and 90.
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
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General
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History
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Departmens
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Facilities
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Tournaments
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Rivalries
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Supporters
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- Curva Nord Mario Alberto Kempes
- Ultras Yomus
- Gol Gran
- VCF Sud
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Related subjects
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UCL vs. UCWC, 1972?1999
| 1970s
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1980s
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1990s
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UCL vs. UEL, 2000?present
| 2000s
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2010s
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2020s
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1890s
| |
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1900s
| |
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1910s
| |
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1920s
| |
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1930s
| |
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1940s
|
- 1948
- Arsenal Stadium
,
Champion Hill
,
Craven Cottage
,
Empire Stadium
(medal matches),
Fratton Park
,
Goldstone Ground
,
Green Pond Road
,
Griffin Park
,
Lynn Road
,
Selhurst Park
,
White Hart Lane
|
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1950s
| |
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1960s
|
- 1960
- Florence Communal Stadium
,
Grosseto Communal Stadium
,
L'Aquila Communal Stadium
,
Livorno Ardenza Stadium
,
Naples Saint Paul's Stadium
,
Pescara Adriatic Stadium
,
Stadio Flaminio
(final)
- 1964
- Komazawa Olympic Park Stadium
,
Mitsuzawa Football Field
,
Nagai Stadium
,
Tokyo National Stadium
(final),
Nishikyogoku Athletic Stadium
,
?miya Football Field
,
Prince Chichibu Memorial Football Field
- 1968
- Estadio Azteca
(final),
Estadio Cuauhtemoc
,
Estadio Nou Camp
,
Jalisco Stadium
|
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1970s
| |
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1980s
|
- 1980
- Dinamo Stadium
,
Dynamo Central Stadium ? Grand Arena
,
Central Lenin Stadium ? Grand Arena
(final),
Kirov Stadium
,
Republican Stadium
- 1984
- Harvard Stadium
,
Navy?Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
,
Rose Bowl
(final),
Stanford Stadium
- 1988
- Busan Stadium
,
Daegu Stadium
,
Daejeon Stadium
,
Dongdaemun Stadium
,
Gwangju Stadium
,
Olympic Stadium
(final)
|
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1990s
| |
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2000s
|
- 2000
- Brisbane Cricket Ground
,
Bruce Stadium
,
Hindmarsh Stadium
,
Melbourne Cricket Ground
,
Olympic Stadium
(men's final),
Sydney Football Stadium
(women's final)
- 2004
- Kaftanzoglio Stadium
,
Karaiskakis Stadium
(women's final),
Olympic Stadium
(men's final),
Pampeloponnisiako Stadium
,
Pankritio Stadium
,
Panthessaliko Stadium
- 2008
- Beijing National Stadium
(men's final),
Qinhuangdao Olympic Sports Center Stadium
,
Shanghai Stadium
,
Shenyang Olympic Sports Center Stadium
,
Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium
,
Workers' Stadium
(women's final)
|
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2010s
|
- 2012
- Coventry Arena
,
Hampden Park
,
Millennium Stadium
,
St James' Park
,
Old Trafford
,
Wembley Stadium
(both finals)
- 2016
- Estadio Nacional de Brasilia
,
Arena Fonte Nova
,
Mineirao
,
Arena Corinthians
,
Arena da Amazonia
,
Estadio Olimpico Joao Havelange
,
Maracana
(both finals)
|
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2020s
|
- 2020
- International Stadium Yokohama
(both finals),
Kashima Soccer Stadium
,
Miyagi Stadium
,
Saitama Stadium
,
Sapporo Dome
,
Tokyo Stadium
- 2024
- Parc des Princes
(both finals),
Parc Olympique Lyonnais
,
Stade de la Beaujoire
,
Stade de Nice
,
Stade Geoffroy-Guichard
,
Stade Matmut Atlantique
,
Stade Velodrome
- 2028
- SoFi Stadium
(men's final),
BMO Stadium
,
Rose Bowl
(women's final),
Levi's Stadium
,
PayPal Park
,
Stanford Stadium
,
California Memorial Stadium
,
Snapdragon Stadium
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2030s
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