Development work on Parma Calcio 1913’s new stadium is envisioned to begin in 2025, with a temporary home set to house the Italian Serie B football club whilst construction takes place, it has been revealed.
The latest news comes after Parma Calcio in September presented “finalised” stadium development plans to Parma City Council for a facility with a capacity of around 21,000. The project would cost €140m (£119.4m/$151.5m) and be financed entirely by the club, which currently leads Serie B and is hoping to win promotion back to the top tier this season.
Under the plans, the Stadio Ennio Tardini, which first opened in 1923, would be demolished and rebuilt “with the highest international standards”. Following requested technical changes filed earlier this week, Parma Calcio has now provided fresh updates on the project.
With a view to Parma Calcio returning to Serie A, it is now envisioned the club remains at the Tardini for the 2024-25 season before work begins on the new-look stadium. A single-phase construction project is expected which would take two years to complete.
“I believe that the best thing, if it goes as we all hope, is for Parma to play the next championship at the Tardini,” Parma Calcio’s corporate managing director, Luca Martines, told the Gazzetta di Parma, referring to the club’s promotion bid and the timetable for the project.
Martines also confirmed the club’s intention to build a stadium in the province with a capacity of at least 16,000 seats, fully funded by Parma Calcio, which could be its temporary home whilst work takes place at the Tardini. When it moves into its new home, it is envisioned that the temporary stadium could then be made available to local sports clubs.
“Today there is no more probable solution,” said Martines, referring to in-depth analysis for such a venue carried out in Fidenza, Montechiarugolo and Noceto. “The mayor of Sorbolo Mezzani never contacted us. He expressed his intention in the media but never direct interest.
“The other hypotheses are all concrete, they all have very positive characteristics: there are those that are closer to the city, those who have very close motorway access, those who have existing structures with which we have interacted for years.”
Meanwhile, revisions to the vision for the new Tardini include a 500 square metre reduction in the proposed surface area for commercial activities.
In January 2022, Parma Calcio said it would continue work on creating “a unique and historical opportunity” for the city after its proposals for the redevelopment of the Tardini were approved as a project of public interest.
Parma, which was relegated from Serie A in 2020-21, and its design partner, Studio Zoppini, in April 2021 unveiled initial plans for the Tardini, with the club seeking to transform it into a true multi-purpose facility.
Under the banner of ‘A Stadium for Parma, inspired by Parma’, the club detailed the thinking for the project. Parma, which is owned by US firm the Krause Group, in February 2021 appointed Milan-based architecture firm Studio Zoppini to redesign its stadium.
