Former Six Nations stadium to become 50,000-seat football arena
A former Six Nations stadium is set to be transformed into a new £380m, 50,000 arena for top flight football.
The Stadio Flaminio in Italian capital Rome will be transformed from its current derelict state into a new state-of-the-art arena for Lazio
The arena was opened for use during the 1960 Summer Olympics before it became a home for football and Six Nations rugby matches.
Now Lazio are looking to move from the 70,000-capacity Stadio Olimpico they share with fellow Serie A side Roma, as well as the international rugby and football sides, and multi-national athletics tournaments.
The project, which will cost £380m and see 50,000 pack into a reformed Stadio Flaminio, will be officially presented next week despite being submitted to the City bodies for approval.
Six Nations to Serie A
“The conference,” a club statement said on Friday, “will represent a moment of clarity and transparency in which the following will be explored in depth: the technical characteristics of the intervention; the land redevelopment project; and the benefits for the city.”
Lazio’s Stadio Flaminio site is on the other side of Rome’s River Tiber, towards the centre of the city, and a 30-minute walk from the Stadio Olimpico.
City rivals Roma, on the other hand, are set to cross the Italian capital entirely to find their new home in or around Pietralata – Roma and Lazio officially began sharing the Stadio Olimpico in 1953 but both played at former Six Nations arena Stadio Flaminio when works were ongoing during the late 1980s ahead of the 1910 World Cup.
Roma currently have the better of Lazio in the Serie A table, sitting fifth versus their rivals’ eighth.
But both sides have been left waiting for a domestic Serie A title for 25 years, with Roma winning their last trophy in 2001, a year after Lazio lifted their second title in 2000.