Italian Serie A football club Spezia has established a new company to oversee the redevelopment project for its Stadio Alberto Picco.
Stadio Spezia Calcio will be fully controlled by the Liguria-based club. It will control all planning, construction and financial matters relating to the future modernisation of the stadium, which first opened in 1919.
In September, the first stage of this process was completed with the expansion of the Curva Piscina section of the stadium. Renovation work began in June and increased the Curva Piscina’s capacity to 3,176 seats, divided into two sections. The project was overseen by architect GAU Arena, construction company Clarin Italia Tribune and Spezia’s head of infrastructure, Riccardo Lazzini.
In May, Spezia appointed Italian architectural design company GAU Arena to lead a transformation project which aims to ensure the Stadio Alberto Picco meets the club’s long-term Serie A ambitions.
The appointment represented a turning point for Spezia under its new American ownership. The Platek family, led by financier Robert Platek, in February 2021 completed a takeover of Spezia and are now aiming to revamp the Alberto Picco into a state-of-the-art stadium through an investment of around €15m (£12.5m/$16.9m).
The club only played its first Serie A match at the Alberto Picco on December 16, 2020 after a project to bring the stadium in line with top-flight standards for the 2020-21 season was completed. Prior to that game, the club was forced to play home matches at Cesena’s Stadio Dino Manuzzi while upgrades were carried out at the Alberto Picco.
The stadium had a capacity of around 10,000 but Pierluigi Peracchini, the Mayor of Spezia, in November 2020 detailed plans to increase this to 16,000 so it is in line with Serie A standards.
The new appointment, made in agreement with the Municipality of La Spezia, dropped these plans in favour of new ones drawn up by GAU Arena.
Spezia said at the time that the project would take three years to complete. Following completion of the Curva Piscina, the final two phases are due to commence at the end of the 2021-22 season, with a focus on the stadium’s main Tribuna stand.
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