March 13 – Serie A club Fiorentina have outlined plans for a new 40,000 capacity stadium in Florence that would be open for the start of the 2021-22 season.
Tag lined ‘The Purple Renaissance’, the stadium will replace the club’s current Stadio Artemio Franchi, where the club have played since 1931.
While enthusiasm for the project from the city, the club and its fans is high, the stumbling block may become the €420 million required to build the stadium in a north-west suburb of Florence. The board is currently exploring finance options with the objective of starting the build in 2019.
“For us, it’s a historic day,” said Fiorentina owner Andrea Della Valle. “The initial project started nine years ago. It’s a big step for the city of Florence and all of Italy, but it’ll need a bit of patience, maybe another four years or so.
“It was necessary to solve some small issues. I’d like to call this the Purple Renaissance.”
The project includes the construction of a shopping centre, restaurants, a hotel as well as new transport infrastructure.
Mayor of Florence, Dario Nardella, said: “It is a turning point, we have taken a road of no return that will bring Florence a new stadium. Here, we can not say things that will not be realised, Palazzo Vecchio is a solemn place.
“The stadium will not be a cathedral in the desert: the redevelopment of the northwest quadrant is comprehensive, from the new airport, the tram line, engagement with the state railway for a new station, a new highway and network of cycle paths.
“How would I rate the likelihood of accomplishment out of 10? I would say nine.”
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