Valencia CF Expands Non-Matchday Stadium Strategy With Return of The Champions Burger at Mestalla.

Roger Hampel

Image: Valencia CF

Valencia CF will once again host The Champions Burger festival at Mestalla this summer, continuing a broader strategy focused on positioning the stadium as a year-round entertainment and event venue ahead of the club’s planned move to Nou Mestalla in 2027.

The event, scheduled from 11 to 29 June, is expected to attract significant attendance after drawing more than 300,000 visitors during the previous edition.

Mestalla as Multi-Purpose Venue Valencia CF

The Champions Burger transforms the Mestalla pitch into a large-scale food and entertainment environment featuring more than 25 gourmet burger operators in food truck format.

This year’s edition introduces an NFL-inspired theme under the “The Big Game” concept, incorporating immersive lighting, tunnels, sound design and interactive elements intended to increase visitor engagement beyond food consumption alone.

Valencia described the activation as part of a wider effort to position Mestalla as a reference point for leisure, entertainment and cultural activity before the club relocates to Nou Mestalla in summer 2027.

The strategy creates additional contact points with audiences beyond traditional football spectators while strengthening the stadium’s role within the city’s entertainment ecosystem.

Experience-Led Stadium Commercialisation

The Champions Burger combines gastronomy, entertainment and competition mechanics into a single consumer format. Visitors actively participate by voting for the best burger based on categories including presentation, originality and product quality.

This interactive structure increases dwell time and engagement while generating repeat attendance and social media visibility.

The model mirrors a growing shift in stadium commercialisation, where clubs increasingly seek events capable of combining experiential entertainment, food and beverage revenue, sponsor activation, digital visibility and wider audience diversification.

The Festival’s Expanding Commercial Scale

The Champions Burger has developed into one of the largest travelling food-entertainment concepts in Southern Europe. According to organisers, the platform attracted more than eight million attendees across 57 cities last year, while also expanding internationally into France and Portugal.

Its return to Mestalla therefore brings both local activation and broader brand visibility for Valencia CF through association with a rapidly growing consumer event.