Mestalla Stadium in Valencia, Spain, was opened in 1923 . as the home stadium of the Valencia soccer team . Prior to that, the local team rented a football field in Alhiroz until once one of the ardent fans did not spare the money put aside for their own wedding, and did not invest in the construction of a new stadium . For the sake of economy, the stands were carved out of wood, and instead of the lawn the bare earth was gaping in the field, but despite all the difficulties, in May 1923 g . "Valencia" played at the stadium "Mestalla" its first th match . After some time the field of the stadium was covered with green grass, and instead of wooden there were already quite serious rostrums, thanks to which the number of spectator seats also increased .

During the civil war, the stadium was not used for football matches - potatoes were grown here and scrap metal was collected, in the arena of the stadium even prisoners were collected to be sent to concentration camps ... In addition, at this time He was heavily damaged, and then the process of reconstruction lasted for months. But already in 1941 the Valencia soccer team won the first Cup of Spain on the field of Mestalli

After that the stadium was rebuilt several times and subjected to various improvements, and after the flood of 1957 its full reconstruction was carried out; later the number of seats in the stadium increased and lighting masts were installed. By the way, the stadium has one more name - it also bears the proud name of the outstanding president Luis Kasanov.

For many years nothing happened with the stadium. Moreover, he collected less and less spectators despite the regular matches of his favorite football team: just around he built high-rise buildings and even a high-rise hotel, which also belonged to "Valencia". There were even talks about moving him out of the city. However, this did not happen: "Mestalla" was chosen as the venue for the matches of the Spanish national team at the 1982 World Cup.

A small reconstruction took place in the stadium in 1996, but was not completed. The current appearance of Mestalla was acquired in 2001: the latest innovations were implemented before the match of the second group round of the Champions League against Manchester United. The number of spectator seats was increased to 53 thousand, plus huge screens were installed on which the fans could watch matches, including those in other cities.

In September 2013 the legendary "Mestalla" celebrated its 80th anniversary, which was timed to coincide with the next update of its appearance.

Excursions to "Mestal"

Tours are organized at the stadium "Mestalla" during which you can visit the dressing rooms of athletes, the tunnel , according to which players run to the field, in the hall for press conferences, VIP-p premises and a chapel at the stadium.

The tour lasts 45 minutes and runs from Monday to Friday at 10:00, 11:00, 12:00, 13:00, 17:00, 18:00 and 19:00. On weekends, tours start at 10:00 and go until 1:00 pm every hour

How to get there

Mestalla Stadium is located in the historic center of Valencia. A walk from the cathedral or the main train station of Estación del Norte takes no more than 20 minutes. From other parts of the city, you can get to Mestalla by metro: to Aragón station on the fifth line

If you are coming by car from the north, you need to keep the motorway A7, which connects Valencia and Barcelona. From Madrid - motorways A3

Address: Avenida Suecia s / n, 46010 Valencia

Stadium Mestalla