Italy Update: Udinese and Cesena add to calls for stadium investments

Friday, October 21, 2011

The chiefs of Italian clubs Udinese and Cesena have joined the growing chorus for new stadiums – calling on the government to push ahead with legislation to support privately-funded facilities.

Giampaolo Pozzo (pictured centre), the owner of Udinese, has announced a ‘war chest’ of €30m to invest in a new stadium to be opened for the team’s next season. With his team currently enjoying top-billing in Serie A alongside Juventus, Pozzo told Il Sole 24 Ore: “There is an investment of €30m… We are discussing it. The goal is to have a new stadium for next season”.

Reducing capacity: Raise quality

The club’s existing home Stadio Friuli (left) is a multi-purpose stadium in Udine, Italy. Owned by the local municipality, the stadium was built in 1976 and can hold up to 41,65 people.

But, warned Pozzo, a new stadium will mean sacrifices in terms of capacity: “Will we have a fewer spectators? Yes, of course. But Stadio Friuli is an inhospitable facility. We will do everything to bring people to the new stadium”.

Clubs need their own stadiums

Meanwhile Cesena president Igor Campedelli has also called for government action to address the problem of Italy’s decaying football stadia.

Campedelli is concerned about the ability of Italian clubs to compete against their English and Spanish counterparts with teams still hamstrung by their inability to drive matchday revenues. Juventus opened its new home in September but it remains the country’s first privately-owned football venue: the majority of Serie A teams still have to pay rental fees to city councils for the right to play in ageing stadia.

“The most important thing for developing the clubs in Italy is that we have our own stadiums,” Campedelli told Reuters. “Like everyone else in Italy, Cesena uses a public stadium. Juventus are the ones who have their own.”

Not just for football

In the wake of failed bids for both UEFA Euro 2012 and 2016, Italy’s football venues have seen little improvement since the country hosted the 1990 FIFA World Cup.

Cesena currently plays its home games in the Dino Manuzzi Stadium (pictured right), which opened in 1957 and is owned by the Municipality of Cesena. Earlier this year the city and club collaborated on the installation of a synthetic turf pitch, new seating and replacement of fences with less obtrusive crowd control measures.

After finishing 15th in Serie A last season Cesena are underway with their second consecutive season in the top flight. Campedelli added: “We hope we can have multi-purpose stadiums that we can use for other events, for concerts, for public events, not just for football matches. But for this we depend on government action.”

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