Nou Mestalla Stadium, Valencia, Spain

Valencia CF made a decision during 2005–2006 to construct a new stadium complex in north-west Valencia. The stadium will be constructed in the congress area of the city on one of the major routes (Avenida de las Cortes Valencianas) in the northern suburbs.

The new building will be sited on a 90,000m² area. The Nou Mestalla, as the stadium will be called, will have a capacity of 75,000 and is expected to be inaugurated in May 2009 for the 2009–2010 season. It is expected that the stadium will be considered as a future venue for the Champions League final.

The new stadium (pitch dimension 105m x 68m) is being designed to attain five-star status from FIFA. The club's aim is 'to build the greatest stadium in the world'.

The original Mestalla, which is still used, was first built in 1923 and has gone through various renovation and extension projects over the years, which has seen its seating capacity increase from 45,000 to 53,000 – but replacement is now the only option and the sale of the original site, to build apartments, is expected to bring many millions of euros, which will finance the project.

DESIGN OF THE NOU MESTALLA

In June 2006 the President of Valencia football club, Juan Bautista Soler, announced that the new stadium would be designed by two companies, Arup Sport (architectural design, structural, mechanical and fire engineering) and Reid Fenwick Associates (RFA) of the UK.

The new stadium will have a three-tier design and for a unique look, the exterior will be modelled on the city of Valencia itself, with the River Turia and each area of the city individually represented in large perforated aluminium segments on the stadium facade. The unique appearance is expected to provide the club with an icon to showcase its aspirations and to establish it in the ranks of the world's elite sporting clubs.

STADIUM FEATURES

The stadium will feature UEFA and FIFA five-star facilities with state-of-the-art changing room facilities and press areas. There will be 75 catering venues in the complex, including a 3,000m² restaurant providing excellent views of the pitch. There will also be two other large self-service restaurants, eight Coffee Corners and various commercial concessions throughout the building and an integrated system of kitchen catering.

There will be 3,100 parking spaces along with conference facilities and shops. There will be 2,600 general parking spaces for the public in an underground car park, 330 VIP spaces, 130 VIP premium spaces, 30 spaces for players and technical staff, and 15 places for buses and coaches.

The new building will have a complete interior service arcade with specialised shops, restaurants and an area suitable for wedding receptions. The first stone was laid in March 2007, with the work starting during the mid-2007.

Although the site is small and a little restricted the seating bowl of the Nou Mestalla stadium will offer space which is unrivalled by other European football stadia. The upper tier has been designed to incorporate structural elements of the roof to save space. The geometry of the design will ensure that spectators will have unobstructed views from any seat in the stadium.

The top tier of the stadium will accommodate 22,000 spectators, the middle tier 18,000 spectators and the lower tier 35,000 spectators. Although the stadium will mostly host football events it will have the ability to be reconfigured to host 50,000 spectators for athletic events, which would involve the installation of a temporary track over part of the lower tier, this process would take five days.

NOU MESTALLA FACILITIES

The stadium will have 24 sets of perimeter stairs; there will also be ten safe-zone fire escapes, 22 elevators and freight elevator and eight escalator sets to zone VIP. For the VIP and club authorities there will be several special arrangements including a box of honour for 150 people measuring 400m² with special direct access from the outside of the stadium. There will also be 18 platinum boxes, 22 gold boxes, 24 silver boxes and a special bronze area for 1,500 spectators.

There will also be a 1,200m² reception and hospitality area. For the players, there will be a total area of 4,400m² altogether including a primary symmetrical changing room complex of 450m² and a secondary changing room area of 250m². There is also an 750m² area for officials (this is one of the UEFA stipulations for five-star status). The stadium design also includes a double tunnel system of direct access from the parking area for opposing teams.

For the press there will be over 1,000m² of work surfaces in a 575m² press room with its own rest room along with a press conference centre with space for 200 people and four doorways to the tunnel where the players come onto the pitch.

There will be equipment to help photographers (computers, broadband access) and a 250m² area with direct access to the press room along with five mini studios for small interviews. There will also be a series of external services to the building including Valencia CF club offices, club museum, stadium tours, club retail shop, and corporate events.

CONTRACTORS

The principal architects for the project are Reid Fenwick Associates of London and Madrid. Arup Sport of London is also involved in the structural design of the stadium as the sport architect. The structural engineers for the project will be Arup from the Madrid office, while the installation engineers will be PGI Grup of Girona.