Mestalla History

1923 — Inauguration
Mestalla was inaugurated on May 20th, 1923 with a friendly game between Valencia FC and Levante FC. It was the beginning of a new era that meant bidding farewell to the old ground, Algirós, which will always have a place in history as the first home of the club.

1927 — First Renovation
Since Mestalla was first used, when Valencia CF were not yet in even in the Primera División, much has happened. Even then, the stadium could hold 17,000 spectators, and in that time the club started to show its potential in regional championships, which spurred the board at the time to carry out the first renovations at Mestalla in 1927. Its total capacity had increased to 25,000 seats before it became one of the grounds most damaged in the Civil War. Mestalla was used as a concentration camp and junkyard. It only kept its structure, with just a single stand, during the conflict.

1941 — VCF’s First Trophy

Once the ground was renovated, Mestalla was the backdrop for VCF’s first trophy: The Cup in 1941. The remodelled venue became a place to see the legendary ‘Delantera Electrica’ of Epi, Amadeo, Mundo, Asensi and Gorostiza, who helped the team to three league titles and two cups. These years of sporting success also served to help restore Mestalla to its former glory.

50’s — The Biggest Change
During the 1950s, the ground experienced the biggest change – a project that resulted in a stadium with a capacity of 45,500. A problem was experienced when the heaviest flood in Valencia’s history damaged it in October 1957, after the overflowing of the River Turia. Nevertheless, Mestalla not only returned to normal, but experienced some improvements, such as artificial lighting inaugurated during the Fallas of 1959.

60’s — The Scene of Big European Achievements

During the sixties, the stadium kept the same appearance, whilst the urban landscape around it quickly transformed. The Valencian fortress became, from this time onwards, the scene of big European achievements. Nottingham Forest were the first foreign team to play an official match at Mestalla against the club, on September 15th, 1961. A golden era of continental successes followed, with the Fairs Cups obtained in 1962 and 1963.

From 1969, the expression "Anem a Mestalla", so common among the supporters, started to fall into disuse. The reason was a change of name that was intended as a tribute to the club’s most emblematic president for a quarter of a century. Luis Casanova Giner admitted that this honour had left him completely overwhelmed, and he himself requested in 1994 that his name was replaced with a return to the old name of Mestalla.

70’s — A Party Atmosphere

In the early seventies, with Alfredo di Stefano as manager, VCF finished league runners-up and lost two Cup finals by slim margins. Valencia also participated in the European Cup for the first time and made their debut in the UEFA Cup. This was a series of events that helped, increasingly, for matches at Mestalla to be held amidst a party atmosphere.

In 1972 the social headquarters of the club was inaugurated – offices which also featured the trophy room. In the summer of 1973 another novelty was introduced in the form of the ‘Sillas Gol’, a stand that meant the elimination of fourteen rows of terraces to make way for seated areas. The directors at Valencia also began to consider the possibility of moving Mestalla from its present location to land just outside the city, but finally the project was discarded and a few years later, in 1978, Mestalla was remodeled in the run-up to the 1982 World Cup.

80’s — El Matador
At the time, Mario Kempes was the best player in the world, and Valencia CF had him in their ranks. With ‘El Matador’ in their squad, the team won trophies in consecutive years in the Copa del Rey, Cup Winners Cup and European Super Cup. The last European final played at Mestalla was one that saw VCF proclaimed continental superchampions. It was in 1980 against Nottingham Forest, coincidentally the first foreign team to play an official match at Mestalla.

90’s — Spanish National Team
The ground had hosted the first game for the Spanish national team in Valencia in 1925, and was chosen as a perfect venue for Spain’s debut in the 1982 World Cup. Ten years later, the Olympic football team were based at the Valencian stadium, en route to a gold medal in the Barcelona games.

Mestalla has been the setting for many important international matches, has hosted several Cup finals, has been home to Levante, home to the Spanish team and an exile for Castellón and Real Madrid in the European Cup; It has been a place to watch greats such as Kempes, Maradona and Pelé; and, above all, it has hosted the greatest feats of Valencia Club de Fútbol. The historic Mestalla recently completed its latest update, and now has a majestic appearance, with a capacity to accommodate 49,430 fans. Above all, it continues to be the home for all Valencianistas whilst they await the construction of the new stadium on Avenida de las Cortes Valencianas.