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Bologna submits plan for Dall’Ara revamp

Italian Serie A football club Bologna has delivered the final plan for the redevelopment of its Stadio Renato Dall’Ara.

The plan has been filed by Bologna Stadio, a company formed by the club in February 2020 to oversee the redevelopment. It has been submitted to the Municipality of Bologna, owner of the stadium, including changes requested for the project, plus financial guarantees.

According to Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore, the project will cost €100m (£86.8m/$121.2m). Some €60m will be guaranteed by club president Joey Saputo, Bologna and the Istituto per il Credito Sportivo bank. The Municipality will account for the rest of the cost.

Opened in 1927, the Dall’Ara underwent redevelopment for Italy’s staging of the 1990 FIFA World Cup. The latest project will seek to remove the superstructure introduced in the last renovation, scaling back the facility to create a fully-covered 30,000-seat stadium that has its stands closer to the pitch.

A further €15m will be spent on the development of a temporary stadium for use by Bologna whilst the Dall’Ara is undergoing renovations. This 15,000-seat facility will be reduced to a capacity of 3,000 for use by Bologna’s women’s and youth teams, once the new-look Dall’Ara is complete.

Work is expected to commence on the project by the end of 2022. In June 2020, Bologna appointed Fincantieri Infrastructure, a subsidiary of shipbuilding company Fincantieri Group, to design and develop the revamp of the Dall’Ara.

Image: GAU Arena