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Napoli president details new stadium plans

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has revealed plans to build a new stadium and training complex for the Italian Serie A football club.

In an interview with Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, De Laurentiis said that he is close to buying a plot of land for the wide-ranging project.

De Laurentiis has cited English Premier League club Manchester City as an example to follow for the project. The club’s City Football Academy features the Etihad Stadium, a training facility and club headquarters all in one space.

De Laurentiis told La Gazzetta dello Sport: “I am about to conclude the purchase of 100 hectares of land, where I will build both the stadium and our sports centre. I am taking care of the destination of the site so as not to risk bureaucracy, because I feel that within three years we will be able to build a new multifunctional stadium, with 30 thousand seats.”

On where the stadium would be located, he added: “Not in the Municipality of Naples because it would be more complicated to obtain permits to build. But we chose an area that is already prepared, even from an urban point of view, close to the railway.

“I asked my architects to replicate the project of Manchester City: a structure where, in addition to the first team, the whole youth sector is trained and therefore (former Napoli manager) Edy Reja, a very esteemed person, will be back with us.”

Napoli, which finished second in Serie A last season, has played at the 60,000-seat Stadio San Paolo (pictured) since 1959.

Image: C.R.