Italian Rugby Federation eyes return to Stadio Flaminio

The Italian Rugby Federation (FIR) has officially entered the long-running effort to regenerate Rome’s Stadio Flaminio, the former home of the national team.

The FIR has detailed the outcome from a meeting between president Marzio Innocenti and the consortium behind the regeneration of Parco Urbano Flamino, in which the stadium sits, at the headquarters of Istituto per il Credito Sportivo (ICS), a banking group dedicated to the sports and culture sector, in Rome.

The Flaminio, designed by renowned Italian architect Pier Luigi Nervi, was built ahead of the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome and initially served as a football ground before hosting matches played by Italy’s rugby union team from 2000 to 2011. The stadium has been closed since 2011, with the Municipality of Rome, its owner, seeking ways in which to bring it back to life.

During the meeting, the FIR said a “common desire” was expressed between itself and the consortium to form a joint working group on a project to identify “suitable strategies” to redevelop the Flaminio.

“The Flaminio was the cradle of Italian elite rugby and a splendid home for the national team,” said Innocenti.

“The meeting with the consortium for the regeneration of the park within which the stadium stands is a first, very important step on a path that we trust will guarantee this historic facility the future it deserves.”

The FIR is not the only interested party in the Flaminio. Serie A football club SS Lazio has long been linked to using a redeveloped stadium as its future home, with president and owner Claudio Lotito in September confirming that acquiring the Flaminio remained one of the options being considered.

Lazio first submitted a “serious proposal” in June 2021 for the Flaminio, with the club, along with city rival AS Roma, having long explored alternatives to the stadium they currently share, the Stadio Olimpico. The Olimpico is also the current home of Italy’s major rugby games.

In February 2023, the Municipality was reportedly set to be presented with a new proposal for the Flaminio that would see it transformed into a 25,000-seat venue able to be fully enclosed through the addition of a roof.

ICS, along with fellow banking group Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), were said to have put forward the proposal for the historic venue.