Features

2021 in review – March

Italian Serie A football club AS Roma dropped its long-held plans for a new stadium in the Tor di Valle neighbourhood of the city.

Roma said the decision was made by the board of directors in the interest of the club after a change in ownership cast doubt over the project. The club said it was still committed to exploring options for a new stadium at a number of sites.

In the NFL, the Kansas City Chiefs signed a first naming-rights deal for Arrowhead Stadium with the Government Employees Health Association.

The home of the Chiefs has been rebranded as GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. The long-term contract runs until the end of the Chiefs’ current lease agreement with Jackson County Sports Complex Authority.

Fellow NFL team the Buffalo Bills also agreed a deal for Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Western New York to take on naming rights to its home stadium.

The Bills’ home was rebranded as Highmark Stadium with immediate effect as part of the 10-year deal. The stadium had been without a sponsor since the summer of 2020 after New Era Company opted to end its deal with the Bills three years early.

Meanwhile, plans were unveiled for a new 15,000-seat arena in the Australian city of Adelaide.

South Australia Premier Steven Marshall pledged that a re-elected Liberal Government would build the multi-purpose venue, which is expected to cost around A$700m (£378m/€448m/$506m). The venue would replace the existing Adelaide Entertainment Centre.

Elsewhere, plans were released for a new stadium in the Chinese city of Wuhan that would seat more than 60,000 fans.

The CNY2.6bn (£305m/€361m/$408m) stadium is designed to be the new home of Chinese Super League football club Wuhan FC and intended to be the anchoring part of a wider sports complex.

Image: Stadio della Roma