NOU MESTALLA - Fenwick Iribarren Architects

Sports

Nou Mestalla stands as a world-class venue, fully aligned with UEFA’s ‘Elite Stadium’ standards. It is ready to host the biggest football spectacles—from FIFA World Cup matches to prestigious national and European finals

Client VALENCIA CF
Location VALENCIA SPAIN
Size 144.000M₂
Spectators 65.000
Status ON SITE

The new project is the result of many years of Co-work with the Club’s technical teams, analysing every aspect of the stadium from multiple perspectives—urban planning, construction, operations, and economics—always striving to find the functionally optimal solution in each case.

The stadium’s unique location, closely integrated into the city, allows for a design that responds to contemporary expectations of hybrid building use. This strengthens the stadium’s role as an active, iconic, and functional space throughout the year, extending far beyond match days. The project therefore includes commercial spaces, standalone dining establishments, as well as the Valencia CF museum and stadium tour, all conceived for permanent, year-round use

A new hospitality and F&B experience, combining versatility, innovation, and strong urban integration.

A key strategic pillar of the project is the complete reimagining of the hospitality model, underpinned by a renewed commercial vision that embraces personalisation, technological integration, and immersive experience design. The new hospitality zones have been designed as flexible, multidisciplinary environments—adaptable to a wide variety of uses beyond football—positioning them as new urban hubs that activate the stadium every day of the year.

This evolution sees hospitality capacity grow to over 9% of the total gross seating, with layouts, circulation flows, and service offerings carefully tailored to different audience profiles. State-of-the-art technology is embedded throughout to enrich every touchpoint of the user journey.

Within this vision, a new Food & Beverage (F&B) concept has been developed to elevate the culinary experience across hospitality areas. The offer combines high-quality products, a celebration of local identity, and operational flexibility—enabling customisable solutions that adapt to a wide range of events and audiences

Next-generation stands and high-tech seating for an enhanced spectator experience

With a final capacity of 70,044 seats, a geometric redesign of certain areas of the bowl has been undertaken through the introduction of new seating tiers built onto the existing structures. This intervention not only enhances viewing comfort and optimises the spectator–pitch relationship, but also allows for the integration of new seating typologies, featuring built-in screens, advanced connectivity systems, and exclusive services.

The modular and scalable design enables the stadium to progressively adapt to future market demands and evolving competition standards.

A more inclusive and accessible stadium

The project includes the strategic redistribution and expansion of areas reserved for spectators with reduced mobility, ensuring their integration across various parts of the stadium to deliver an accessible, high-quality experience. A detailed analysis of internal circulation has also been carried out, establishing clear hierarchies and avoiding intersections between different user profiles.

Two categories have been defined for this type of audience: the so-called “adapted” seating, which consists of dedicated platforms for wheelchair users and their companions (a total of 274 seats distributed throughout the bowl, predominantly in the lower tier), and PMR seating, or easy-access seats reserved for individuals with reduced mobility due to physical or cognitive impairments (432 seats, all located in the lower tier).

A new icon on the city skyline

The building’s envelope is, without doubt, where the new stadium project has evolved the most. The stadium is now far more open—more “Mediterranean” in its concept. The Nou Mestalla has transformed into a series of flowing, open promenades that connect with the city, allowing spectators to engage with the urban landscape through its façades and upper levels.

The overall design represents a significant formal simplification, yet this very simplicity conveys undeniable strength and character

The new pitch incorporates the most advanced solutions, not only in terms of performance, but also in sustainability and operational efficiency

a high tech roof

The stadium roof is undoubtedly the most technologically complex element of the entire building. Its design, which appears deceptively simple, resembles a tensioned veil supported by a series of vertical masts. Given the vast surface area to be covered—approximately 41,000 m²—the project required the most advanced structural modelling and mathematical engineering tools in order to achieve the extreme lightness and slenderness of its elements.

Structurally speaking, the roof follows a relatively straightforward principle: fifty steel columns support a balanced system made up of two main structural rings. The outer ring—also the primary compression ring—consists of thick steel beams working under intense compressive forces. The inner ring is far lighter, made up of a dual-layer cable system that works under high tension. These two rings are connected by fifty pairs of radial cables, joined by steel struts, which also work under tension—similar to the spokes of a wheel.

Once the inner ring is lifted into place using a pneumatic system (always anchored to the outer ring), the radial cables are pulled taut and the forces between both rings are balanced, forming a stable structure. At that point, a continuous surface can be installed—this is the actual element that provides protection from sun and rain.

This collaborative system of steel and cable enables the covering of large spans (up to 70 metres) with a minimal amount of material. The final roofing solution chosen for construction is a next-generation membrane, specifically designed for high tensile strength, contributing to the overall bracing of the steel structure. At the same time, it is extremely lightweight and durable, and thanks to its slight translucency, allows a certain amount of natural light to filter through.

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