Valencia CF visitor guide | Estadio Mestalla guide
The Estadio Mestalla is the formidable home ground of Valencia C.F, one of the most successful teams in Spanish football. The club has played its home games here since 1923; the ground was inaugurated on the 20th of May 1923 with a friendly match against local rivals Levante UD. The initial capacity of the ground was 17,000, over the years this has risen to the current capacity of 55,000. The Estadio Mestalla was one of the venues chosen to host matches during the 1982 World Cup; all of the Spanish national team's games during the tournament were held here. With a capacity of 55,000, the ground is smaller than those of La Liga rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid, yet the Estadio Mestalla, with its steep, cliff like terraces, manages to conjure up perhaps the most intense, intimidating match atmosphere in Europe. Travelling supporters can look forward to great views of the pitch from vantage points that feel right on top of the action.
The club plans to move to a new stadium, the Nou Mestalla in 2010. The new ground will have a capacity of 75,000 and the cost is expected to be 250-300 million Euros; it is hoped that the Nou Mestalla will be granted a UEFA Elite Stadium ranking.
The stadium is in a fairly low-key part of Valencia over a mile from the city centre and nearly two miles from the beach; fans looking for a hotel near the Estadio Mestalla should take this into consideration when choosing their accommodation.
If you have come to watch your team play at the Estadio Mestalla then it is likely that you will be arriving in Valencia by plane. Valencia Airport is situated over 5 miles from the city centre; it is well integrated into the cities transport network so getting to Valencia itself is straightforward. MetroBus, the local bus line provides a regular service to and from the city centre; the journey takes around 45 minutes. Aerobus provide a dedicated airport shuttle service that costs more but takes just 20 minutes to reach central Valencia. Metro lines 3 and 5 have stations at the airport; this is perhaps the most convenient way of reaching the city centre (15 minutes) or other locations such as the port and main railway station, the Estacio del Nord.
The Estadio Mestalla is easy to reach once inside Valencia. As can be seen on the MATCHhotels.com map, it is roughly a mile east of the historic city centre and a walk to the ground from here should take no more than 20 minutes. Alternatively, it can be reached by Metro; the closest station is Aragon, which is on Metro Line 5. Valencia has a good public transport system with an integrated network of trams, buses and metro trains so you will find it easy to make your way to the ground from wherever in Valencia you choose your Estadio Mestalla hotel.
