Work restarts on ‘world’s greatest football stadium’ that had been abandoned for 16 years as £250m revamp is agreed
VALENCIA are set to restart work on their Nou Mestalla stadium… 16 years after they were supposed to move in.
The skeleton of what was meant to be the “world’s greatest football stadium” has been lying dormant since work was halted in 2009.
The LaLiga side had been hoping to move out of their traditional Mestalla home in 2009.
But after gathering debts of more than £350million by 2008, the project was sidelined.
After many false dawns, plans to recommence construction work are finally gathering speed.
Valencia have unveiled their latest new design for the stadium – the sixth since 2006.
Club president Lay Hoon Chan boldly proclaimed: “We’re not just building a stadium, we’re building a monument.”
The Singaporean, 60, also added that the stadium will act as a “beacon of hope” for the city.
Valencia are working with the same contractor as they agreed a deal with in 2007.
They hope for the new stadium to be ready in time for the 2027-28 season.
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It will boast a capacity of 70,044 – significantly more than their current 49,000-seater home.
Around 3,000 VIP seats will be included, and the stadium will be able to host top events by meeting Uefa‘s highest criteria.
Valencia are said to be taking out a new £270m loan from Goldman Sachs in order to help finance the project.
They plan to begin paying back their loan in 2027, across a period of 20-25 years.
Valencia has so far missed out on being one of 11 host cities for the 2030 World Cup.
But tournament chiefs could slip them in at the last minute, should Nou Mestalla be built according to plan this time.
On the pitch, Valencia have suffered badly in recent seasons.
Not long ago mainstays of Uefa competitions, they currently find themselves languishing bottom of LaLiga with just two wins from 19 games.
Last month, club icon Ruben Baraja was sacked as boss.
They moved quickly to replace him with West Brom manager Carlos Corberan, who has now been tasked with keeping the fallen giants in LaLiga.