Juventus Stadium opens: A grand home for the old lady

Friday, September 09, 2011

Congratulations to the team behind the new Juventus Stadium – a great football venue, fantastic opening event and, we hope, the project that gets Italy’s stadium sector moving…

Juventus FC opened their stylish new home last night, with a grand opening spectacular (organised by K-Events), followed by a game against historic friends Notts County.

“The event in Turin was marvellous and given greater significance in Italy as Juventus is now the only Serie A club to play in its own stadium – this is a situation which holds clubs back financially,” observes Ian Nuttall, founder, TheStadiumBusiness.com.

The English visitors – who came away with a respectable 1-1 draw – were chosen as the opponents for sentimental reasons as their black-and-white striped shirts inspired Juventus’ choice of strip when the club decided to replace their faded pink shirts in 1903.

“We have completed this project at a very difficult and delicate moment, in terms of the club’s sporting history and the macroeconomic context,” club president Andrea Agnelli told reporters before the opening ceremony.

“This is a demonstration of our will to undertake an investment which can change our club and the ownership culture in Italy. This for us is a matter of great pride.”

Giancarlo Abete, President, FIGC (the Italian football federation) added: “What is lacking in Italian football is that the clubs do not have their own stadiums.”

The stadium, built in two years on the site of the former Stadio delle Alpi, has a capacity of 41,000 with the front row just seven metres from the pitch. It is a far cry from the previous stadium, which was often half full and where players complained that the crowd’s distance from the pitch created a subdued atmosphere.

Juventus went on to beat Parma 4-1 on Sunday in the first Serie A match to be held in the stadium.

JOIN US AT ITALY’S FLAGSHIP STADIUM IN 2012!

Note: Xperiology, the organisers of TheStadiumBusiness Summit has been working with FIGC over the past year to encourage future stadium developments in the country – and to assist the clubs in creating the Human Resource capacity to manage modern stadiums.