Fenwick Iribarren Architects carry off Nou Mestalla Stadium feat

Article posted by Coliseum, July 17^th, 2026

Image: Coliseum GSVA

Mark Fenwick is a true industry expert and the original architect of the under-construction 20,044-capacity Nou Mestalla Stadium in Valencia, Spain, which is 20 years in the making but is now finally set to open its doors in 2027.

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Working anew on a stadium project which is almost more than 20 years is no mean task and the Fenwick Iribarren Architects (FIA) have carried off this feat.

Fenwick is associated with the Fenwick Iribarren Architects, the internationally renowned architecture studio of Spain.

Mark Fenwick is the Co-Founder and Executive Advisor of the Fenwick Iribarren Architects (FIA), an internationally recognized architectural practice he co-founded in 1990 alongside Javier Iribarren. Under his leadership, the FIA has grown to become one of Spain’s most influential studios with a strong global presence and a reputation for delivering complex, large-scale projects.

In an exclusive conversation with ‘Coliseum’, Mark Fenwick, Senior Partner, Fenwick Iribarren Architects, Spain, stated, “I really do hope that none of you take 20 years to get a stadium finished. It’s been a long one. This was a stadium we designed in 2005 and it was approved by the Government at the time but the thing was it was a stadium that cost a lot of money. It was an expensive stadium and money was no object. In 2008, at least in Spain, the world ended basically. It was like an economic COVID. The crisis happened and sadly in 2009 we actually built the concrete of the stadium and we developed the lovely Bowl for 75,000 people. We luckily stopped the work before the metal started to come on site – the steel – so, the concrete stayed there from 2009. So, what happened is we suddenly found that the new financial market made the stadium totally unviable and we had to manage 20 years of feeling of trying to make this a great stadium and we kept going and we did value engineering and we had to look at the economic sustainability.” Work finally restarted on the stadium in 2025 and the FIA had to face the gauntlet and they worked their way through successfully.

Fenwick Iribarren Architects

Madrid (Spain)-based Fenwick Iribarren Architects (FIA), founded in 1990 by Architects Mark Fenwick and Javier Iribarren, Member of 10N, a collective created by Egis, is an internationally renowned architecture studio. With extensive experience across a wide range of architectural typologies the firm has developed projects on every continent.

Nou Mestalla Stadium

The 70,044-seat Nou Mestalla Stadium is an under-construction football stadium in Valencia, Spain, intended to serve as the new home ground for the LaLiga club Valencia CF. After sitting as an unfinished concrete skeleton for over 15 years due to financial crises construction resumed full tilt in 2025 with a targeted completion and opening in the Summer of 2027.

Valencia CF

The Valencia CF or simply Valencia is a Spanish professional football club based in Valencia, Spain. The team currently competes in the LaLiga, the highest tier of the Spanish football league system. Their home ground is the 49,430-seat Mestalla Stadium in Valencia, Spain.

FIA

Mark Fenwick began by providing inputs on Fenwick Iribarren Architects, “Just a quick one with FIA. A year ago we were acquired by Egis, a large, genuine firm and we are part of their architectural line which is absolutely fantastic. The FIA is a reasonably small sports firm developing stadiums over the last 20 years and gives us now a much more global opportunity to work. We are done with over 60 stadiums now – small to large stadiums – from 5,000 up to the biggest ones. I never thought I could do a hat trick in Qatar 2022 – the 40,000-seat Stadium 974 in Doha, Qatar, the 40,000-seat Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar, and the 44,400-seat Al Thumama Stadium in Doha – were all designed by the Fenwick Iribarren Architects.”

The Valencia Stadium Saga – 2005-2026

The Nou Mestalla Stadium was stalled for nearly 20 years primarily because the original plan hinged on selling the Valencia CF’s old stadium to the real estate developers for an estimated €350 million. When the 2008 global financial crisis devastated Spain’s property market the land became virtually unsellable. This plunged the club into deep debt thus halting construction in February 2009 and leaving behind an unfinished concrete skeleton.

“In 2005 we were asked to do the design of a new stadium in Valencia of about 75,000-capacity and we carried out the whole design of the project and in this project our partner was Arup who worked on the structure, on the Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing (MEP) and together we really worked hard to get this project started in 2005. The city of Valencia which has these 17 districts and the river going through it and we actually wrap those neighborhoods over the structure of the stadium that Arup gave us and this is the result of a spectacular façade and you could actually identify each of the neighborhood on the stadium.

Design Challenge

“We worked with 11 different Presidents of Valencia CF. Every one of those President had a different idea, different opportunity and different vision and we had to manage all of these. So, the challenges here is how were able to work through those 20 years changing the way we had to work and the design change as we go in through.”

Cost Challenge

“For the architects to reduce the cost of 120 million is not an easy thing – not just changing the finishes of the design. It is structural major changes to get the cost. We had to look at the roof, the façade and everything in it and we also had to work on a new finance model we actually brought in.”

New Project

After the 2009 pause construction finally resumed on the Nou Mestalla Stadium in January 2025 after a major financing package was secured and the stadium is now targeted for completion in 2027.

Mediterranean Stadium

“The new project which got off in 2025 is totally different. What we had to do is basically take away the façade, take away that enormous structure. We have done an amazing roof over the stadium as well but basically we had to eliminate the façade but again I think it has become a much more interesting stadium because the 2005 stadium was very introverted whereas this stadium is a lot more Mediterranean. Because we have created terraces where before the stadium was very contained within that shell but now we have these terraces because we had to take the façade off. So, I think in any crisis you have got to look for the opportunity and this is something that is actually been working very well. We have developed a new finance model and we were able to get funds from the LaLiga. We were unable to sell a building near the site and we got some funding coming through. So, the whole idea actually brought together is an amazing new business plan actually now makes it work.”

Flexibility

“We designed the stadium 20 years ago and what we are happy is that the stadium designed 20 years ago allowed the flexibility to be able to change what it is today. So, we got the value engineering, the cost and try to make an amazing fan experience and bring innovation into the areas that we are now developing. So, the stadium now is totally different. The Bowl that we designed with Arup is being developed now to create over 20 to 25 different VIP, VVIP premium seats. Maybe 20 years back we had three seating types and we now have over 20. And these are all being implemented as well. Obviously, the new VIP tiers, interior design, the whole idea of the VIP lounges, and making sure that the place can be used every day of the year.”

Wrap-up

Mark Fenwick wrapped up by stating, “We hope that the Nou Mestalla Stadium is included as a venue for the 2030 World Cup. Right now, the columns are being put up and the compression beams and we are well ahead to possibly getting an opening in 2027 which will be 22 years after starting the project.”

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