Gabriele Gravina called the new Stadio Artemio Franchi ‘a gift to the city of Florence and Fiorentina’ at the project’s presentation today.
The stadium was built in 1931 and is owned by the Municipality of Florence, rather than Fiorentina themselves. It has been used to host World Cup matches in two different tournaments, back in 1934 and in 1990.
Speaking at the presentation of the new Stadio Artemio Franchi in Palazzo Vecchio today, FIGC president Gabriele Gravina discussed the lack of modern stadiums in Italy and the importance of the work at the stadium in Florence.
“We are a little tied down by excessive bureaucracy and a lack of initiative on the part of the private sector.
“The issue of stadiums is topical, tomorrow is now and we can no longer lose ground if we want to recover all that we have lost. I hope that this initiative will be a stimulus for many other realities.
“Nardella and I have been talking for a long time, and we have managed to put together the history of our football, both for the national team and Fiorentina. This is a gift we are giving to the city, to Fiorentina, to the national team, but also to all the fans of our football.”
The Municipality of Florence unveiled the winning project for the renovations at the Stadio Artemio Franchi earlier today in the Salone dei Cinquecento in Palazzo Vecchio. Many notable figures are there, such as former Viola star Gabriele Batistuta, Azzurri coach Roberto Mancini and ex-player Giancarlo Antognoni.
Fiorentina president Rocco Commisso was incredibly keen to build a new stadium in Florence owned entirely by the Viola but he was bogged down by bureaucracy throughout his work.
GRAVINA, Questo è regalo per Firenze e per i Viola https://t.co/pjmdY7kkfL
— Firenzeviola.it (@firenzeviola_it) March 7, 2022
a gift this is a joke this is the problem in Italy with this politics and old ways when the rest of the football world is moving forward with new stadiums ect… and paying 100 to 150 million of taxpayers money in Florence, no a gift is Commiso spending 3 million of his on money to build a new stadium and told he can’t
Exactly @old man viola. Italian football is held back by the Italians themselves. Let Commisso, Roma, Venezia, and the rest build their own stadiums. It is the only way the serie a can ever regain all that it has lost .
What a joke this clown is. A gift? A lack of initiative? It is the way things are done in Italy that is the problem. Years of red tape. Years of discussions. Years of officials taking all they can. No one cares about getting things done. Owners have wasted millions trying to get new stadiums. The greedy hands of the councils wont let go. I wish one of these reporters on FI would just speak the truth. A gift? What a circus leader this joke is.
But will Fiorentina own the stadium or the city of Florence?