What does a new stadium mean for Fiorentina?

As many of you may already know, ACF Fiorentina announced yesterday that they have plans to build a new stadium in the city of Florence. The details of the stadium are still being ironed out but this has an opportunity to be an amazing investment for the club. How the current system works in Italy is that the stadiums are government run. Think of it like having a landlord. Fiorentina pays a sum of money to play at Stadio Artemio Franchi each match. As much as it is their stadium they are renting it out like tenants rent out an apartment.

There are three exceptions to this in Serie A though and they are Juventus, Sassuolo, and Udinese. Juventus is currently the only team that built their own stadium. Sassuolo and Udinese purchased their stadiums from the government. Therefore, la Viola will be the second team to fund and build their own stadium in Serie A. With that brings a lot of opportunities that the fans will love.

First of all the economic impact will be great. Yes, it will take a lot of money to actually secure the land and build the stadium, but all of the profits from the stadium will go directly to Fiorentina management. Owning a stadium brings many new opportunities, like hosting international matches and friendlies, hosting concerts, hosting other sporting events like potentially American Football or Rugby, and most importantly gaining a bigger profit from the ticket sales of each match. What is even more exciting is the prospect of using that money to reinvest in the team. Fiorentina seems to be stuck in the top part of the Table, but has not taken the step to be elite in Serie A. This can help them take that step.

Currently Serie A has one team that the rest of Europe is afraid of. That team is Juventus. Do you think there is a coincidence between Juventus owning their own stadium and profiting from it and their steady run atop the Serie A table? Of course there is. If la Viola follow the same trend they will not only be playing Champions League Football but they can maybe overtake the king Juventus.

This stadium is also a chance to help revitalize an area of Florence. The goal is to keep the team in the city itself and the proposed location looks to be between the Duomo and the Airport. This means that it would be easily accessible by public transportation, car, and even walking from the city center if necessary. This whole new area which include a hotel will surely be a tourist attraction in the renaissance city. The stadium can give tours and have interactive experiences on off days, which would create new opportunities for businesses in that are.

Overall, this project stands to be a success. Of course with any venture this large there are risks. Fiorentina still needs to obtain the funding to do this and obtain the land. It also will be sad to see the team leave the stadium they called home since 1931. Sometimes though it is for the better. It is also exciting to see the Della Valle family looking to make a move like this. The future is bright for Fiorentina now hopefully they do not sell of Bernardeschi before the stadium opens in hopefully 2021.