Lazio to carry out feasibility study on Stadio Flaminio

SS Lazio president Claudio Lotito has revealed that the Serie A football club is carrying out a feasibility study to assess the availability of Rome’s Stadio Flaminio, the former home of Italy’s national rugby union team.

Lazio has long been linked to using a redeveloped Flaminio as its future home, and Lotito confirmed in September that acquiring the stadium was one of the options being considered.

The club first submitted a “serious proposal” in June 2021 for the Flaminio. Lazio and cross-city rival AS Roma have long explored alternatives to the stadium they currently share, the Stadio Olimpico.

In an interview with la Repubblica, Lotito has confirmed that a feasibility study has been commissioned to determine the extent to which the Flaminio could be redeveloped. The stadium has a current capacity of 30,000, and Lotito said that if it could only be expanded to 35,000 Lazio would not move forward with any project.

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.

“First I have to see the feasibility of the work and what they allow me to do,” Lotito said. “If it has to be 35,000 seats, I refuse.”

He added: “If they tell me to build a stadium with 35,000 seats, I thank them and say goodbye. Lazio has an average of 45,000 spectators but can also reach 60,000. What should I do? Do I send the fans away? 

“This is why it still takes some time to find a falling point. The Municipality has given its availability and we have given ours. But we need to be aware of what the problems are in order to close the issue of planning.”

Lotito’s comments come after the Italian Rugby Federation (FIR) last week expressed an interest in redeveloping the stadium.

FIR president Marzio Innocenti met with the consortium behind the regeneration of Parco Urbano Flaminio, 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 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.