The Mayor of Naples says Napoli-Real Madrid “wouldn’t happen without us” and dismisses Aurelio De Laurentiis’ idea for a 20,000-seater stadium.
Stadio San Paolo is in a state of disrepair, with a rift between the club and the city council, which owns the stadium.
“We won’t build a new stadium, but we’ll do a beautiful renovation of the stadium that exists,” Luigi De Magistris said on Radio Crc.
The Mayor of Naples says Napoli-Real Madrid “wouldn’t happen without us” and dismisses Aurelio De Laurentiis’ idea for a 20,000-seater stadium.
Stadio San Paolo is in a state of disrepair, with a rift between the club and the city council, which owns the stadium.
“We won’t build a new stadium, but we’ll do a beautiful renovation of the stadium that exists,” Luigi De Magistris said on Radio Crc.
“The upcoming objective is to finish the dressing rooms, the corridors and the Press box for March 7 for the match against Real Madrid.
“We’ll respect that commitment, even without the support of the club, we’ve embarked on this road and if we have to we’ll finish it alone.
“I don’t think it will be embarrassing because the city is investing in the stadium, this administration is the only one in Italy to have done so, despite not having adequate resources.
“We decided to fix up San Paolo and we will, indeed I want to thank the workers who are physically renovating the facility.
“Then in the summer we’ll do the other jobs, the toilets, the seats and other things.
“The city of Naples is dedicated to sport with a great spirit of sacrifice, and we’ll complete it. In other cities, new stadiums and renovations have been done by the clubs.
“In Naples, were it not for our intervention, the game against Real Madrid probably wouldn’t be played because San Paolo wouldn’t be eligible.
“It took a huge sacrifice, but our intervention will reach the end at a certain point. Then if the club wants to help with our efforts we can start thinking about things outside of the stadium.
“Between now and 2021 – which is the worst case scenario, where the club decides not to invest in the stadium – we’ll allocate adequate resources to completely restructure the stadium.
“I think a San Paolo with 20,000 seats would be impractical. The stadium is for the people, and I disagree with the notion that there should be economic barriers to accessing it – in fact, I’m firmly opposed.”