Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

ROMA

AS Roma unveil ambitious new stadium

Serie A club Roma unveiled proposals on Monday for a new state-of-the-art stadium that is part of their ambition to "become one of the most successful football clubs in the world".

Published: 15 June 2015 14:23 CEST
AS Roma unveil ambitious new stadium
AS Roma president James Pallotta said the stadium project was "an historic milestone for the city of Rome and AS Roma". Photo: Gabriel Buoys/AFP

Unveiling the project at a media briefing attended by project partners and city council representatives, club president James Pallotta said the project, three years in the planning, was “an historic milestone for the City of Rome and AS Roma”.

“Mayor Marino and his staff have been challenging us along the way to make the project better and I believe we've done everything we could to make Tor di Valle-Stadio della Roma a new safe, connected, exciting and sustainable epicenter that will allow a better way to live in the city and trigger economic development in the area, with AS Roma and the new stadium serving as the anchor for many generations to come,” Pallotta said in a club statement.

“We all look forward to playing in AS Roma's new stadium. The fans deserve this new stadium and it will be a key driver for the club's continued success.”

Calling the project “one of the most important privately-financed projects of urban regeneration in Europe”, the project features a 52,500-60,000 seater stadium, a business park, a centralized entertainment district convivium and green areas.

It is expected to cost “approximately €1.1 billion”, according to the club, and would “ensure that this sports, commercial and entertainment complex is a lasting and viable new addition to Rome's most enduring landmarks”.

Mark Pannes, CEO of Stadio della Roma, said: “Tor di Valle-Stadio della Roma is a project that will reboot the spirit and energy of the great city of Rome and its citizens.

“We expect to create at least 12,000 new jobs and many opportunities for local companies. We're proud to be leading this world-renowned development and to date we have committed a €55 million total – €30 million direct domestic investment – in pre-construction work.

“Over the next few years, we're primed to expand that investment to an additional €1.1 billion for the construction of the entire master site.”

Many of Italy's football stadiums are old and out of date compared to those of European contemporaries, and violence and lack of security at matches has led to a fall in attendances over the years.

Pannes added: “Security will be one of key features of the project as we want to create a safe and family-friendly environment for fans and visitors.”

In another boost for fans, the venue would be accessible by several transport modes and links, “including pedestrian and vehicular bridges, Metro B, Roma-Lido and Roma-Fiumicino railways”, added the club statement.

Roma, who currently share the Stadio Olimpico with city rivals Lazio, finished runners-up to Juventus in the 2014/15 Serie A season to claim an automatic place in next season's Champions League.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

PROTESTS

Thousands protest in Rome against fascist groups after green pass riots

An estimated 200,000 people descended on Rome on Saturday to call for a ban on fascist-inspired groups, after protests over Italy's health pass system last weekend degenerated into riots.

Published: 16 October 2021 19:20 CEST
A general view shows people attending an anti-fascist rally called by Italian Labour unions CGIL, CISL and UIL at Piazza San Giovanni in Rome
People attend an anti-fascist rally called by Italian Labour unions CGIL, CISL and UIL at Piazza San Giovanni in Rome on October 16th, 2021. (Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP)

Carrying placards reading “Fascism: Never Again”, the protesters in Piazza San Giovanni — a square historically associated with the left — called for a ban on openly neofascist group Forza Nuova (FN).

FN leaders were among those arrested after the Rome headquarters of the CGIL trade union — Italy’s oldest — was stormed on October 9th during clashes outside parliament and in the historic centre.

Analysis: What’s behind Italy’s anti-vax protests and neo-fascist violence?

A man holds a placard reading "yes to the vaccine" during an anti-fascist rally at Piazza San Giovanni in Rome

A man holds a placard reading “yes to the vaccine” during an anti-fascist rally at Piazza San Giovanni in Rome on October 16th, 2021. Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP

“This is not just a retort to fascist ‘squadrismo’,” CGIL secretary general Maurizio Landini said, using a word used to refer to the fascist militias that began operating after World War I.

IN PICTURES: Demonstrators and far right clash with police in Rome after green pass protest

“This piazza also represents all those in Italy who want to change the country, who want to close the door on political violence,” he told the gathered crowds.

Last weekend’s riots followed a peaceful protest against the extension to all workplaces of Italy’s “Green Pass”, which shows proof of vaccination, a negative Covid-19 test or recent recovery from the virus.

The violence has focused attention on the country’s fascist legacy.

Saturday’s demonstration was attended by some 200,000 people, said organisers, with 800 coaches and 10 trains laid on to bring people to the capital for the event.

Workers from the Italian Labour Union (UIL) react during an anti-fascist rally in Rome

Workers from the Italian Labour Union (UIL) react during an anti-fascist rally in Rome on October 16th, 2021. Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP

It coincided with the 78th anniversary of the Nazi raid on the Jewish Ghetto in Rome.

Over 1,000 Jews, including 200 children, were rounded up at dawn on October 16th, 1943, and deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp.

General Secretary of the Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL), Maurizio Landini (C) delivers a speech as Italian priest Don Luigi Ciotti (R) looks on

General Secretary of the Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL), Maurizio Landini (C) delivers a speech as Italian priest Don Luigi Ciotti (R) looks on during the anti-fascist rally in Rome. Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP

“Neofascist groups have to be shut down, right now. But that has to be just the start: we need an antifascist education in schools,” university student Margherita Sardi told AFP.

READ ALSO: Covid green pass: How are people in Italy reacting to the new law for workplaces?

The centre-left Democratic Party, which has led the calls for FN to be banned, said its petition calling on parliament to do so had gathered 100,000 signatures.

SHOW COMMENTS