Fiorentina has three options for new stadium

For years we have heard a lot of talk around what Fiorentina will do with its stadium issues. Italy, notorious for its bad soccer infrastructure, has long struggled to navigate the financial and political pitfalls that come along with construction in the country. Fiorentina join AS Roma and the Milan teams hoping to enhance their stadiums and the increased revenues that come from it and join Juventus, Atalanta, Udinese and Sassuolo as the only team in Serie A owning their stadiums.

So where do we stand today? Today, Fiorentina and the government of Firenze are down to three options: Build a new stadium in the Mercafir area, tear down and build new, or renovate the Artemio Franchio.

Are we any further than we were under the Delle Valle? Yes, in fact there is a lot of momentum behind what Fiorentina is doing. ViolaNation was able to find out that Rocco is personally focusing his time on this stadium project. According to La Nazione, Rocco has even reached out to his close friend and legendary architect, Rafael Viñoly to get the most beautiful options as a gift back to Firenze and its citizens. Raphael is the genius behind Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center for Performing Arts, and this beautiful home a few miles from me, among many others. In a recent radio interview Rocco said he hopes things can move “Fast, fast fast.”

Where do we go from here? A few weeks ago, Dario Nardella suggested that the project would move forward with a new build in the Mercafir. This seems to be the preferred project for many locals in Firenze as it would give Fiorentina the state of art facility, would be owned by Fiorentina and allow for many new and important revenue streams. Unlike the previous village proposed by the Delle Valle, this would require less land, and less third-party approvals as the project would only include a stadium.

Next, Rocco’s friend Rafael Viñoly has positioned a new project where he would build a new stadium adjacent to the Franchi where the Astori sports center, the Affrico, the Cerreti and the Olimpia now sit. While I have no doubt that Rafael’s designs would be amazing, it seems this is not an option as it would cause too many disruptions to EVERYTHING in the area.

The latest consensus by experts is that Fiorentina would prefer to engage in the restyling of the Franchi. La Nazione has even gone as far to say a decision has been made. Fiorentina would move forward with a renovation project that would cost around 150 million euros. This restyling has a few main projects. The stadium would cut off both Curvas as we know them today and bring them closer to the field in a more modern, squared off design. The fan seating would be redesigned, there would be a renewed focus on shops, food and beverage vendors and other commercial facilities, and a showstopping glass roof would be installed that has drawn similarities to the Louvre. The project timeline is said to be about 2 and a half years and can be done without requiring Fiorentina to find an alternative stadium for home games.

While it hasn’t been mentioned yet, let’s hope all options would include more than the one bathroom facility on each side the stadium! We’ve all spent far too much time in these lines.

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