On Friday, the Rome City Council approved the construction of a new stadium in the northeast of the Italian capital. The arena is also expected to play a key role in the 2032 European Championship finals, which will be held in Italy and Turkey.
The two Italian city rivals, AS Roma and Lazio, are set to get a new home in time for the 2032 European Football Championship. On Friday, the Rome City Council approved the construction of a new stadium in the northeast of the Italian capital. It is also expected to play a key role in the final tournament to be held in Italy and Turkey in six years.
A total of 39 out of 44 city council members approved the “technical and economic feasibility study” submitted by the club. However, this does not yet constitute final confirmation of the project. After all, further approvals from authorities, particularly at the regional level, are still pending.
Along with city rival Lazio Rome, AS Roma plays its home games at the Stadio Olimpico—a situation that does not exactly please the two fan bases. The clubs have also been seeking separate venues for several years. Construction work on the billion-euro project, which would accommodate 60,000 spectators in the northeastern Pietralata district, is set to begin as early as next year. The plan is to complete the venue “in time for the European Championship matches,” announced Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri.
The Italian Football Federation must propose five host cities for the European Championship by the end of this year. However, the partly dilapidated condition of Italian stadiums had caused tension in the run-up to the announcement. Last May, UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin described the situation as “shameful.”
