Over the next month we are highlighting many of the nicest stadiums in all of the world. Unfortunately for Stadio Angelo Massimo, they are not exactly one of these elite venues to spectate football. The stadium is home to Catania who have never hoisted the Serie A title in their existence. So perhaps the mediocre grounds is fitting for the mediocre squad that plays their home matches in the venue.
The stadium was built in 1937 which makes it among the older stadiums in Italy, but it is by no stretch of the imagination the oldest. One thing that defines the poor condition of the grounds is the fact that it was one of the few ancient stadiums that has never underwent a significant remodeling job. It was overlooked during the great remodeling phase of 1989 because the seating capacity was too small for the World Cup, so the stadium is among the oldest when it comes to a lack of a renovation over its history.
Due to a lack of a remodeling job in the 1980’s that means the stadium also has no roof making it one of the few that does not protect it’s fans from the weather conditions that may occur at a match. Also at just over 23,000 seats it is among the smallest stadiums in Serie A and is only about a quarter of the size of many of the great football stadiums in the world. The grounds also underwent one of the longest banned match sentencings. In 2007 from February to June the stadium hosted zero matches due to a riot that resulted in the death of a police officer following a match with Palermo.
