Italian Government to Support Stadium Development

Progress on stadium construction and sport redevelopments throughout Italy is aimed to be sped up through an initiative the Italian government will release this spring with the aim of eliminating regulations that has held up multiple stadium projects around the country.

Milan’s San Siro Stadium, which will host the Opening Ceremony for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games, has tentatively been given the host rights for the 2027 Champions League final. Italy, which hosted the 1990 FIFA World Cup, is scheduled to co-host the 2032 European Championships with Turkey.

“We do not want to intervene with both feet in realities that are territorial, but we want to provide simplified tools and procedures,” Sports Minister Andrea Abodi told Il Sole 24 Ore. “We have made a leap in quality with the configuration of the commissioner structure, with all that follows in terms of powers that do not override but use best practices to speed up the process.

Abodi referenced the need to have improved infrastructure ahead of Euro 2032: “UEFA has imposed the opening of the various construction sites for April-May 2027, under penalty of revocation of the assignment. Therefore, there is not much time.”

Most of the stadiums within Serie A have had minimal improvements since a building boom ahead of the 1990 World Cup. There is work started on Stadio Artemio Franchi in Florence at the cost of $170 million. Projects have been proposed as well in Rome, Parma and Cagliari plus Bologna.

The biggest potential stadium project in Italy is in Milan, where a long process to determine the fate of San Siro is continuing. The two tenants, AC Milan and Inter Milan, have submitted plans for $1 billion-plus San Siro renovation project with a projected completion of 2030 with construction beginning after the 2026 Games. The existing stadium will only be partially dismantled because of its cultural significance.