Olimpico, Pietralata and Flaminio: one city, three stadiums

It might seem paradoxical. Roma’s stadium in Pietralata is going ahead. It is now a certainty: at the end of September, the decision-making services committee gave its final go-ahead for the project. The aim now is to start work in spring 2027. The political and administrative process for the Flaminio will also begin soon, which could indeed, in a few years’ time, make it the hypothetical new home of S.S. Lazio’s ‘Biancocelesti’. In this case, the conditional is a must, but there is no lack of commitment from the club or the City Council. Why, then, has Sport e Salute announced right now that the Stadio Olimpico is also set for a makeover? A €150 million project with one aim: to bring the stadium up to standard for the final of Euro 2032, the European Football Championship that Italy will co-host with Turkey. All very well, but once that match has been played, what will the city do with all these stadiums? What will become of the Olimpico when Roma move to Pietralata and, shortly afterwards, Lazio might also leave the ground in favour of the nearby Flaminio? Serie A, the Coppa Italia and European competitions will no longer be played there, and ‘Sport e Salute’ will lose around 6.5 million euros a year in guaranteed revenue from the stadium rental fees paid by the two Rome-based clubs – effectively a third of its income. It is no coincidence, then, that the €150 million project for Euro 2032, announced two days ago, has set out a vision for a stadium offering “a business model that operates 365 days a year”, so as to provide “a modern, high-tech, sustainable facility capable of generating value from 1 January to 31 December”.

In short, it seems the money will have to be found elsewhere. There will be concerts, of course – this year’s work will begin immediately after the three highly anticipated dates featuring Oasis and Vasco Rossi – rugby (the Six Nations), athletics (though this is still overshadowed by Rome’s painful exclusion from the race to host the 2029 and 2031 World Championships – a real blow) – but also the prospect of the Olimpico becoming a key venue for the national team. “We want an Olimpico capable of attracting more and more major international events,” explained Diego Nepi Molineris, CEO of Sport e Salute, two days ago, “one that becomes a permanent driving force for sport, for Italy and for Rome. Because the new Olimpico will not simply be a stadium: it will be the great international stage for Italian sport.”

In fact, only a small portion of the funds allocated for the refurbishment will be spent on adapting the seating capacity ahead of the European Championship (it should be noted that the stadium was already modernised for the 1990 World Cup and again with more recent works in 2007). The Olimpico already has a capacity of almost 70,000 spectators; following the works, this figure will be slightly exceeded. A minor change, in short, which will in fact allow the works to be carried out without disrupting Roma and Lazio matches. The building works, on the other hand, will be used to install new giant screens and, above all, to improve the hospitality areas (premium and corporate) and all the ancillary facilities around the stadium, starting with the bar areas. These works will help make the stadium as suitable as possible for hosting all kinds of events, not just – and not primarily – football matches.

The hope of the leadership at Sport e Salute is to create something in the centre of Rome very similar to what exists in Saint-Denis in Paris or at the Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park in London. The Olimpico is, in fact, perfectly integrated with the rest of the Foro Italico, from the tennis centre to the Stadio dei Marmi and the swimming pools. This is the legacy of our now long-past Olympic Games. Furthermore, from 2036, Metro Line C is also expected to run to a stop just a short distance from the venue – at Farnesina station.