‘Aquile’ back to playing at repurposed digs

Article posted by Coliseum, September 14^th, 2021

Image: Spezia Calcio

The Italian football club Spezia Calcio had their fans back at their pad – Alberto Picco Stadium – on September 12^th for the Serie A match against their peer team Udinese Calcio – the matchup which Spezia Calcio lost against the Udinese Calcio 0:1.

The ‘Spezia Calcio’ stated that the stadium reopened after renovations to the ‘Curva Piscina’ of the Alberto Picco Stadium were completed ahead of schedule following which the above fixture was held.

Spezia Calcio is a professional football club based in La Spezia, Liguria, Italy. In 2020-2021, they played in Serie A for the first time in their history, after promotion to the top tier via playoffs in the 2019-2020 seasons.

Udinese Calcio, commonly referred to as Udinese, is an Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, that currently plays in Serie A. It was founded on November 30^th, 1896 as a sports club, and on July 5^th, 1911 as a football club.

Stadio Alberto Picco is the main football stadium in La Spezia, Italy. Since 1919 it is the home ground of Spezia Calcio 1906. The stadium holds 10,336 spectators.

The ‘Spezia Calcio’ further stated that three months after taking over the club, US investor Robert Platek – whose ownership group also acquired two other teams in Europe (SønderjyskE Fodbold in Denmark and Casa Pia A.C. in Portugal) – decided to renovate Spezia Calcio’s grounds, located near the Cinque Terre National Park in the Liguria region, with an investment of €15 million. The investment in the stadium project is a clear sign of the family’s long-term commitment to Spezia Calcio and its desire to keep the club in Italy’s top tier.

Renovation work began on June 21^st this year and increased the Curva Piscina’s capacity to 3,176 seats, divided into two sections. The refurbished Curva Piscina has been approved by the Supervisory Committee and Lega Serie A.

The ‘Picco’ – even at 50 percent capacity – will roar again and the ‘Aquile’ will finally return to celebrating with their fans, who for too long have been away from their home.

Spezia Calcio owner Platek stated, “I want to say thanks to the Mayor, the Municipality, Police and Fire Departments and everyone else in the City who supported us in this project. This Herculean accomplishment would only be possible with the support of our great architects GAU Arena, the construction company CLARIN ITALIA TRIBUNE S.R.L., and of course, our amazing team lead by Riccardo Lazzini – it’s an amazing achievement! To the fans, I say: We did this for you, your support is vital to the team and inspires us all.”

The first phase of the three-year project firmly backed by the Platek family has now been successfully completed. The other two phases of stadium renovations will begin at the end of the 2021-2022 seasons and the focus will shift to the Tribuna of the Viale Fieschi facility. The Mayor and the local authorities played key roles in the delivery of Phase One, but it also could not have been accomplished without the expertise of architect Gino Zavanella’s GAU Arena and the invaluable contribution of the work team coordinated by the Head of Infrastructure, Riccardo Lazzini.

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