Visiting the home of Valencia CF, with the Mestalla Forever Tour.
On the 101st anniversary, I signed up for the Mestalla Forever Tour. A hat-trick of football stadiums ground-hopped:
In 1998, I watched FC St Gallen play Lausanne at the Wankdorf.
In May 2022, I visited the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, the only stadium to host three World Cups (1970, 1986 and 2026).
And now, I get to visit the Mestalla Stadium home of Valencia CF.
Valencia CF and the Mestalla Stadium
The club was formed in 1919 and was known as Valencia FC, but was changed after the Spanish Civil War to Valencia CF (Valencia Club de Fútbol).
With a seating capacity of 49,430, it is the eighth-largest football stadium in Spain.
It opened on May 20, 1923, with a friendly match between Valencia and Levante FC, the latter formed in 1909, making it the oldest football club in Spain.
Valencia won that first match, 1-0.
It must have been some sort of fluke. The day I chose to visit the stadium, check this out, was May 20, 2024.
Having a pre-tour beer near the stadium:
Groundhopping the Mestalla Stadium on its 101st anniversary:
The stadium hosted three games of the 1982 FIFA World Cup when the stadium was known as the Luis Casanova Stadium.
Spain played all three of their first-round matches in Group 5 at the Mestalla, the third of which was when Northern Ireland beat Spain 1-0, to win the group, with the winning goal scored by Gerry Armstrong.
The stadium’s name was changed in 1969 to Luis Casanova Stadium to honour club president Luis Casanova Giner.
The name was later changed back to The Mestalla, in 1994.
Groundhopping the Mestalla Stadium in my 2022/2023 MK DONS home shirt, 101 years since Valencia CF had played its first game in the stadium, May 20, 1923:
Home Team Dressing Rooms:
The pitch at the Mestalla Stadium:
The dugout:
Souvenir football boots:
The football shirts of Valencia CF:
The press room where managers are interviewed after the match:
Nomadic Backpacker emerging from the tunnel at the Mestalla Stadium:
Valencia has had a lot of success. They have won six La Liga titles, eight Copa del Rey titles, one Supercopa de España, and one Copa Eva Duarte.
In European competitions, they have won many times, including one UEFA Cup, one UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, two UEFA Super Cups, and one UEFA Intertoto Cup.
And the IFFHS World’s Best Club in 2004:
The future of the Mestalla Stadium
A new stadium, the Nou Mestalla, is being built. Work started back in 2007 and ground to a halt in 2009, due to financial reasons, but as of January 1, 2025, construction is underway again and is set to open in 2027.
The Nou Mestalla will have a seating capacity of 70,044 and is located just north of the old town.
The Estadio de Mestalla will be demolished.
Practical Information for those doing the Mestalla Forever Tour: Location, Times and Tickets
For those who are interested in the Mestalla Forever Tour, here is the location of the Mestalla Stadium on Google Maps.
It is just a 30-minute walk from the historic centre of Valencia
Address: Gate 3. Mestalla Stadium, Avenida de Suecia. Valencia
Schedule: Guided tours generally start at 10.30 am and last 1 one hour.
2 thoughts on “Groundhopping the Valencia CF Stadium on a Mestalla Forever Tour”
Neat experience to be able to do this.
Pretty inexpensive too, given the range of access.
I did an informal, self-directed, tour *to* a few stadiums last year in England and The Netherlands. Definitely some hallowed grounds; you can feel the history.
Neat experience to be able to do this.
Pretty inexpensive too, given the range of access.
I did an informal, self-directed, tour *to* a few stadiums last year in England and The Netherlands. Definitely some hallowed grounds; you can feel the history.
Which ones did you visit? Anfield, Old Trafford, Emirate, White Hart Lane? What about Twickenham Rugby stadium?
Am hoping to go back to the Azteca once the WORLD CUP is over..