It is not a secret that Lazio and Roma would like to move away from the Stadio Olimpico and they got a boost today with those plans when Rome’s mayor Gianni Alemanno told reporters that:
“we are ready, now it’s up to the teams. They have to tell us which area they have chosen and then present us with a plan.”
Lazio President Claudio Lotito reacted positively when presented with the mayor’s remarks, by saying that a new ground could be ready in five years’ time.
“We are always ready,” he told a Press conference. “We have an agreement in place, but the process is very long.
“We could have the first stage of the build complete in five or six years’ time, but first the plans have to be approved by the city council.
“We want to build a multi-purpose stadium that meets people’s everyday needs.”
Hard to tell if the stadium would be built with public funds or private funds, but with the introduction of Uefa’s Financial Fair Play rules, Serie A clubs are looking for ways to boost their matchday revenue.
Almost every Serie A club plays in a stadium that is owned by the city, meaning that they cannot add corporate seats to a stadium or receive the revenue from concessions or non-football events. That is why Juventus built their own stadium and that Inter have announced plans to build a stadium just for them in Milan.
The next ten years could be the golden age of stadiums in Italy, with five or six new stadiums being built.