The Nou Mestalla, the potential future home of La Liga club Valencia CF, is one of the longest ongoing yet ambitious stadium construction projects in world football.
Construction started in 2007; however, financial issues caused delays. What's the back story, though? And can these new claims be believed? Read on for more.
Nou Mestalla stadium updates
Valencia can now restart construction on Nou Mestalla, with completion expected in 2027, following a significant financing breakthrough.
June 2025 update: Valencia secures huge financing for Nou Mestalla
Valencia has announced that they have secured financing from a consortium of institutional investors and bank lenders for the Nou Mestalla project. This latest development follows a significant financial restructuring involving up to €322 million. It is considered one of the most important transactions ever completed by a professional football club in Europe.
The financing is expected to enhance the club's financial position, with no strain on the club's indebtedness. Consequently, the club's debts have been restructured as follows:
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A five-year loan subscription totalling €85 million will be repaid using the proceeds from the land on which the old Valencia stadium is located, after the completion of the Nou Mestalla.
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Valencia will receive notes totalling €237 million, with a maturity period of 28 years.
🚨🇪🇸 𝐎𝐅𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋 | Valencia have secured €322m of financing for their new stadium! 💰
The Nou Mestalla will be one of the biggest stadiums in Europe with a capacity of 70,000.
Plan is to open the stadium by 2027. 🏟️ pic.twitter.com/b0uvjNSjzb
— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) June 27, 2025
The transaction, which has received a solid BBB credit rating, was supported by several financial advisors at its inception, including Goldman Sachs. Most notably, La Liga has been actively involved in the negotiations, allowing Valencia to move forward with the completion of their new stadium on schedule.
In light of this successful financing, Valencia's President, Kiat Lim, described it as a historic milestone for the club, giving them the green light to deliver Nou Mestalla. Lim also emphasised that this long-term commitment will drive Valencia's growth for generations to come.
May 2025 update: Lawsuit filed against City of Valencia over Nou Mestalla construction permit
It has now emerged that despite earlier approval that Nou Mestalla construction will resume in January this year, the progress may be slowed by, among other things, lawsuits by a fan group that is against the project for various reasons.
Ultimes vesprades a Mestalla, loosely translated as Last nights of Mestalla, is behind a suit that seeks to stop Valencia from completing the abandoned ground. They are advocating for renovation of the current ground, citing a lack of proper audit of the funds going into the new stadium project, several other concerns notwithstanding.
Ultimes vesprades a Mestalla have further pointed out what they term as technical deficiencies and outdated building codes, which they argue would compromise the structural integrity of Nou Mestalla.
The fan advocacy group refer to a document that Valencia C.F. presented to the city council in October 2024. They have also questioned the lack of durability tests and the lifespan of would-be Nou Mestalla roofing material.
Ultimes Vvesprades a Mestalla's latest move has triggered a judicial review of the project, especially its feasibility and legality.
December 2024: Nou Mestalla construction costs rise above €300
Earlier in October, the club presented an executive report to the City Council of Valencia, detailing, among other things, cost estimations and a new deadline for completing Nou Mestalla.
In the more than 4,000-page report, the total cost of constructing the new Valencia stadium has now exceeded €300 million. It details the price of every material that will be used in completing the stadium. Of the colossal amount, €139.7 million, up from an initial €119 million, will be needed to complete the stadium. Other items factored into the new estimates include VAT, overheads, industrial profits and land cost.
It is also reported that Nou Mestalla will have one of the most technologically advanced stadium roofs stretching across the massive structure.
With all the costs taken care of, the documentation presented to the city council states that the new proposed date for completing the stadium is 2027. With that, the club plans to resume construction work at the venue in January 2025.
Before the construction works resume, a report detailing the fan experience is expected to be presented by the club in December 2024, including an external audit to ensure the new budget is in line with current market factors such as inflation.
Financial challenges that have bedevilled the club have worsened in recent years to the extent that their performance on the pitch has also been worrying. They are currently one of the worst-performing teams in LaLiga, sitting second-last on the LaLiga table after 17 games in the 2024/25 season. This may likely harm the expected investment in the Nou Mestalla project.
🇪🇸🦇 Valencia on their new stadium…
“The Nou Mestalla will be the best stadium in Spain in its category in terms of quality of vision and comfort of the stands.”
“Valencia fans will be able to enjoy a stadium with the highest quality of vision and comfort in each seat.” pic.twitter.com/tOF7OBZW99
— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) February 14, 2025
Nou Mestalla plans and timeline
The construction of the Nou Mestalla began in 2007 when Valencia CF reached the pinnacle of their history by winning several trophies, including two La Liga titles under Rafael Benitez.
The plan to capitalise on the team's success on the field and to build a new state-of-the-art 80,000 seater stadium was one that many saw as a no-brainer at the time, and it was intended that the club would continue to compete with clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona, whilst also competing against Europe's elite in the Champions League.
All look well under the ownership of former club president, Juan Soler, who, after their UEFA Cup triumph in 2004, announced two years later, details on a new stadium to be built for a club very much on the up.
Work began on the stadium, but within two years, it was stopped due to a lack of funds, which left a half-built stadium with no club playing in it. Since then, it has lain there, vacated. Under the ownership of Peter Lim, it is no nearer to completion, with the club struggling on and off the field.
Valencia’s Nou Mestalla stadium has been standing half-built for the past 15 years.
Now, with Spain co-hosting World Cup 2030, construction looks set to restart — but some have major doubts over what the project means for the club’s future.
— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) January 2, 2024
A plan that once entailed Nou Mestalla to be built by 2010 at the latest, with it scheduled to host the Champions League final in 2011, has now become a farce, leaving Valencia CF with ownership of one-and-a-half stadia and continuing to play at the current Mestalla.
Will Valencia ever move into Nou Mestalla?
There was a glimmer of hope that reconstruction would continue in October 2022, when the club released plans for the project that started back in 2007, in June 2022.
However, no progress has been made, and Nou Mestalla still stands half-built. There have been whispers that it will be built and finished by 2025, but with past plans never coming to fruition, fans have been sceptical as to whether the stadium will ever be finished.
Valencia awaits building licence from council
While it is clear that progress has been slow on the Nou Mestalla project, it is just as apparent that the club are as desperate as ever to finally get construction back underway. In May 2024, reports emerged suggesting that Valencia are still waiting for the City Council to grant them the building licence they need to start construction on the site once more.
As well as the aforementioned licence, it is also believed that the club are also waiting to receive approval for their urban planning documents, which include developments on the proposed new facility and the current Mestalla.
A breakthrough for Nou Mestalla project
Once this happens, then there appear to be very few obstacles left for Valencia to overcome, especially considering that they have now completed the sale of the land on the site of the new stadium, in a deal believed to be worth around €40 million.
This is a huge boost for the club's plans to soon begin construction on the Nou Mestalla.
The sale will see a portion of the land attached to the site sold to Área Desarrollo, a Spanish property development company. Reports suggest that numerous structures will be built on the land, including office blocks and a hotel, to increase the number of people visiting the ground.
While this is a massive step forward for the Nou Mestalla project, Valencia have reiterated that “The agreement is subject to the approval of the urban planning authorities and [the granting] of licenses necessary for the development of both the stadium and the tertiary buildings planned by the buyer.”
Nou Mestalla remains a ghost ground 15 years later
More than 15 years since the ambitious Nou Mestalla project was launched, the iconic stadium remains a ghost ground. While residents of the city are unbothered as they go about their daily business, the eerie appearance of the steel structure in the middle of a busy city evokes bittersweet memories.
At the time when Nou Mestalla was launched, Valencia was enjoying remarkable success on the pitch and Nou Mestalla was to reflect the club's ambition, especially when it comes to competing with clubs like Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.
Spain are set to co-host the 2023 FIFA World Cup, something that could awaken the construction of Nou Mestalla. With a seating capacity of 80,000, no doubt the New Valencia Stadium would become one of the biggest stadiums in World Football.
However, Valencia are currently struggling, not only financially but also on the pitch. In the 2024/24 season, Los Ches are chasing the top 6. They sit eighth after 28 games, so the next 10 matches will be decisive for Ruben Baraja as he guides Valencia back to the European stage.
What will the new Valencia stadium be like?
Nou Mestalla itself was initially supposed to be an 80,000 seater, ‘luxurious' and ‘state-of-the-art' stadium built to compete with the best clubs and stadia in Europe.
However, with plans stalling, lack of funds and no finish date confirmed, the future capacity has been slashed to nearly half of that, with 49,000 being the maximum number of spectators able to watch a game on match day.
As said previously, the completion date is said to be sometime in 2025, but there has been no confirmed exact date for this, which has led many fans to believe it will be much further into the future before they see their club move from their current home of the Mestalla.
Valencia CF: The history of the Mestalla
The Estadio Mestalla, as it was known when it was first used back on the 20th May 1923, in a match played between its occupiers, Valencia CF and its first away team, Levante.
The stadium at the time had a capacity of 17,000, with the capacity increased four years later to 25,000. It was again renovated in the 1950s to increase its capacity to 60,000. It has since decreased its capacity to 49,430, making it the eighth-largest stadium in Spain in modern times.
It was not always named the Mestalla, however, and in 1969, the name changed to that of Estadio Luis Casanova, the club's president at the time, Luis Casanova Giner.
In 1994, Casanova requested that the name be reverted to the Mestalla as he felt overwhelmed by the honour of having the stadium named after him.
The stadium's name, the Mestalla, comes from the historic canal of Mestalla. The canal posed an obstacle for fans who wanted to gain entry to the south stand, jumping over the Mestalla Canal to get to the ground.
The stadium's North Stand is famous for having a steep section for fans who brave it to watch their club play weekly.
The stadium has played host to World Cup matches, when Spain held the tournament back in 1982, hosting the Spanish national team's three group games versus Honduras, Yugoslavia and Northern Ireland, a game they lost 1-0, thanks to a goal from Gerry Armstrong.
It is said to be one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history.