Verona venue ‘meaty’ redevelopment plans

Article posted by Coliseum, August 5^th, 2024

Image: Marcantonio Bentegodi Stadium, El passs on the Italian Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0

On July 30^th, the Municipal Council of Verona gave its nod to the Single Programming Document 2025-2027 highlighting among other things the initiatives to be taken for the speedy redevelopment of the Marcantonio Bentegodi Stadium in Verona, Italy, keeping in mind the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) EURO 2032 show. The revamped facility will be able to hold 30,000 spectators.

‘ITALY 24’ stated that the present venue project plan “carries more substance” and comes as a “breath of fresh air” compared to the previous venue project report approved by the City Council in December 2019.

The 39,211-capacity Marcantonio Bentegodi Stadium is a venue in Verona, Italy. It is the home of the Serie A club Hellas Verona FC.

The Hellas Verona Football Club, commonly referred to as the Hellas Verona, is an Italian professional football club based in Verona, Veneto (Italy) that currently plays in Serie A, the top of the Italian football league system. The Marcantonio Bentegodi Stadium serves as their residence.

‘ITALY 24’ further stated that the present project report stresses on the “regeneration of the neighborhood” and aims to make the spruced-up Marcantonio Bentegodi Stadium “a multipurpose structure which will host not only sporting events but various other activities and will be a talking point in the City of Verona”.

Keeping in mind the UEFA EURO 2032 which will take place in Italy and Turkey and also the fact that Verona has been included in the list of 10 candidate Cities shortlisted in Italy for the UEFA show, the Municipal Administration has stated that it will have to speed up the work of redeveloping the Bentegodi Stadium “in order to facilitate the hosting of the EURO 2032 matchups”.

The 2032 Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA EURO 2032 or simply EURO 2032, will be the 19^th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international football championship organized by the UEFA for the senior men’s national teams of its member- associations. Italy and Turkey will host the tournament which is scheduled to take place from June 18^th-July 18^th, 2032.

Nyon (Switzerland)-based the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach football in Europe and the transcontinental countries of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Kazakhstan, as well as the West Asian countries of Cyprus, Armenia and Israel. The UEFA consists of 55 national association members. Since 2022, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the FIFA and UEFA suspended all Russian national teams and clubs from any FIFA and UEFA competitions.

The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) has spelt out that by the end of 2026 the stadiums in Italy which are scheduled to host the UEFA soccer extravaganza must present the technical-economic feasibility project report and the same must be in keeping with the UEFA benchmarks.

The Italian Football Federation (FIGC), known colloquially as the Federcalcio, is the governing body of football in Italy. It is based in Rome and the Technical Department is in Coverciano, Florence. It manages and coordinates the Italian football league system.

The Bentegodi Stadium will also have to submit the above report as the Municipal authorities informed that the venue in its present form do not qualify for holding soccer showpieces. And if the makeover work of the stadium is not started pronto it will not be in a position to host the EURO 2032 games.

Taking into account the above, the Municipal Administration has its goal set out – “To present a project replete with novel ideas and the redecorated stadium will be a multipurpose one and will be among the spiffiest stadia in Europe where not only soccer matches but other events will also be held. It will focus on the repurposing of the entire stadium district and the transportation network will be streamlined and made sophisticated and the people will be encouraged to use public forms of transport and ditch the private vehicles keeping in mind the sustainability factor.”

The Municipality has stated that “the construction of a temporary stadium has been planned so that the Hellas Verona FC matches are not disrupted when construction work is on in full swing at the Bentegodi Stadium and they can play in the temporary venue.”

‘Opportune Moment’

The Mayor of Verona Damiano Tommasi said that “keeping in mind the EURO 2032 show now is the right time to reconfigure the Bentegodi Stadium in order to host the soccer spectacle fixtures. We have been waiting for a long time to revamp the facility. We are competing with nine other Cities in Italy who have also offered their candidacy to host the EURO 2032 games. Our goal of hosting the UEFA showcase can only be accomplished if we go in for total transformation of the Bentegodi Stadium. The objective is to bring the arena at par with the most futuristic soccer venues of Europe and we would also like to seize the opportunity to redo the above facility in such a manner that it is also able to host major music acts and be able to draw other major events apart from football. The construction of the stadium will be done in such a manner that the weather elements do not affect the facility and a retractable pitch will also be constructed.”

‘Community First’

Mayor Tommasi assured the people living in and around the venue that “all redevelopment work will be carried out keeping in mind the best interests of the community on which the venue sits. The residents will be able to avail the facilities which will be on offer in the revamped stadium – gym and housing facilities for the students. In these houses the athletes too can reside who otherwise do not get proper accommodation facilities in the City. Totally rebuilding the structure will also act as an added advantage for the neighborhood.”

365 Day Facility

The Municipality of Verona arrived at a decision that the reconfigured Bentegodi Stadium will be a multipurpose venue boasting a retractable pitch and hosting a series of cultural events apart from football matches and other sporting activities. It will be bristling with activities the whole year round which will also help to bring home the bacon.

The Municipal authorities also decided that the design will have to be cutting-edge and the arena will boast technical bells and whistles. The sustainability factor will take precedence and measures will be initiated to control noise pollution as well as light pollution. The acoustics too will be state-of-the-art and the venue will have to fully meet the UEFA guidelines in order to host the European Championship matches. The stadium will also enjoy the pick of eateries and the food served will be mouth-watering along with the beverages.

The ingress-egress system of the stadium will be avant-garde and the current parking lots will be developed. The views of the residents will be taken into consideration according topmost priority to the interests of the community and the redeveloped venue will go on to lend a new and fresh look to the entire neighborhood.

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