The renovation of the plant, one of the most important in the country, has begun. But after the tug of war between the Municipality and the Viola club, the unknown remains over the financing. And the timing
Euro 2032 represents an opportunity for Italy to relaunch itself and renovate football facilities that have become degraded and obsolete due to a lack of investment, discouraged by slow and inefficient bureaucracy. A situation highlighted very well by the Sport 2023 Report, presented by the Istituto per il Credito sportivo and Sport e Salute, according to which almost half of Italian facilities (44%), built between the 1970s and 1980s, are now inefficient in terms of economic and environmental sustainability. If three cities are already certain of participating in Euro 2032 (Rome, Milan and Turin), another seven will compete for the three remaining places, which will be assigned in October 2026.
Also Firenze hopes to return to the venues of the event thanks to the renovation of the Artemio Franchi. A symbol of popular Italian rationalism, the stadium was built between 1929 and 1932 by architect Pier Luigi Nervi, who managed to combine aesthetic values with the most advanced technology of the time. Home to Fiorentina’s home games, it is considered one of the most important facilities in our country, so much so that in 1983 it was classified as a national monument under the protection of the Fine Arts. Today, the structure has problems of inefficiency and functionality such as to give rise to the need for a general restyling. Already in 2019, the president of the Viola company, Rocco Commisso, had announced the intention to demolish the structure to build a new one, with a total cost of 250 million euros, but the project was rejected by the Superintendency for reasons of architectural interest. Subsequently, the then mayor Dario Nardella proposed to the president the construction of the new stadium in a peripheral area of the city, but the costs of the municipal land (22 million euros) caused the agreement between the parties to fall through. In the meantime, the Franchi, which for reasons of age was already under protection, was declared of significant historical-artistic interest becoming a protected monument.
A first turning point came in September 2020, with the approval of article 55 bis of the Simplification decree which led to a modification of the Cultural Heritage Code by placing economic-financial sustainability before the artistic protection of the work. From there, a succession of appeals and petitions by the Nervi Foundation, attentive to the enhancement and protection of the stadium. Icomos International was added, an NGO which in December 2020 sent the former mayor and the former minister of culture, Dario Franceschini, the International Heritage Alert, renewed in February 2023 without success: a document in which he urged them to abandon any project and to work on the redevelopment of the Franchi while respecting its architecture. Yes, because in the meantime the former mayor announced his intention to definitively carry out the renovation with an international competition. The restyling plan is linked to the 150 million financing provided by the National Complementary Plan (PNC), a fund paid by the State to carry out projects that are complementary to those of the PNRR which, like the latter, imposes deadlines to be respected (completion of works by 2026) to avoid the risk of losing it. After receiving a firm no from the government to the request for an extension for the funds allocated for the stadium, the former mayor negotiated with the companies involved in the renovation to guarantee the same works in a shorter period, about three months less.
Fiorentina will remain to play at Franchi throughout the 2024-2025 season, as has already happened with the stadiums in Bergamo and Udine. Work began at the end of February this year with the demolition of the old scoreboard, then moved on to the Ferrovia curve, which was completely closed at the end of the championship, and to Fiesole, where the restyling is currently underway; at the same time, work is being done on parts of the Maratona and the grandstand. In the meantime, the renovation of the Padovani rugby stadium is awaited (Palazzo Vecchio has opened a tender), which will host the Viola club in two sporting seasons. Then Fiorentina will be able to return to Franchi on the occasion of the club’s centenary.
Ma There are many doubts from a financial point of viewstarting with Padovani: for the renovation of the facility, approximately 15 million euros are needed, but the Municipality will only pay 10. Who will provide the rest? According to Palazzo Vecchio, the remaining five could be financed with advertising posters in the construction areas or by finding a sponsor who will give a name to the stadium, but at the moment these are just hypotheses. Not to mention the 50 million euros needed for the “finishing” of the stadium and the 55 million euros cancelled by the EU Commission, earmarked in the initial project for roofing. In both cases, the Municipality is counting on government aid that is unlikely to arrive. Not to mention the issue relating to the possible investment of President Commisso, which was preferred to give up in order to follow the path of public money. While waiting for a signal from the new mayor Sara Funaro, doubts and uncertainties remain about an operation that, only apparently, satisfies the parties involved, as Nervi herself reveals: «The best thing would have been to conceive from the beginning a tender that was truly respectful of the stadium and therefore transform it into a multipurpose sports and cultural arena of the Municipality. Commisso could have, and in fact still could, build his stadium in a different area of the city, which however the Municipality was unable, or did not want, to identify».
Source: lespresso.it
