Nou Mestalla Takes Shape: First Compression Ring Piece Installed on Future 4,800-Tonne Roof
Valencia CF's new ground is visibly rising, with the first piece of the roof's compression ring now in place as 17 of 50 steel pillars go up.
Valencia’s long-awaited new stadium is finally starting to look like something worth getting excited about — the Nou Mestalla is rising, piece by massive piece.
Where Things Stand
Cast your mind back to 22nd December, when the first of 50 exterior steel pillars went up at the Nou Mestalla site. Fast forward to now, and 17 of those enormous columns are already in position. More importantly, workers have just installed the first piece of the compression ring — one of the most structurally significant components of the entire roof system.
That’s a proper milestone, that is.
What’s Actually Going In
The last few weeks have seen a serious ramp-up in activity around the stadium’s perimeter structure. Here’s what’s been going on:
- Steel pillars continuing to go up around the ground
- Staircase towers now visible from outside the site
- Structural boxes being assembled to form the compression ring
- Tension ring cables — the inner part of the roof cable system — have arrived on site
- Radial cables that will connect the inner tension ring to the outer compression ring are also in play
Once the whole lot is assembled and tensioned, the roof will essentially hold itself up through the interplay between these elements — no internal columns needed.
The Bicycle Wheel Bit (Bear With Me)
The compression ring is the clever bit that makes this all work. Think of it like a bicycle wheel: the outer rim resists, the inner part pulls, and the roof membrane sits tensioned between the two. It’s the same structural logic used at the Wanda Metropolitano and the Allianz Arena, so Valencia are in decent company on that front.
The finished roof will weigh a frankly ridiculous 4,800 tonnes, supported by those 50 S355 steel pillars. There’ll also be solar panels running around the exterior perimeter, which is a nice touch.
Who’s Building It
- FCC Construcción is the main contractor running the show
- Horta Coslada, specialists in metal structure design and fabrication, are producing the structural components to FCC’s specifications
According to the club, everything is tracking in line with the structural phase calendar. The next steps involve progressively assembling the rest of the compression ring and coordinating the installation of the remaining roof cables.
The Bigger Picture
For a project that’s had more false dawns than a dodgy alarm clock, it’s genuinely encouraging to see the Nou Mestalla taking shape at this pace. The structure is now visible, the key components are arriving, and the timeline — at least for now — appears to be holding. Los Che fans have been waiting a long, long time for this. Every pillar going up feels like a small victory.