Featured image credit: Municipality of Florence
Italian Serie A football club Fiorentina has revealed that redevelopment work at the Stadio Artemio Franchi could now last until the spring of 2029.
Fiorentina president Rocco Commisso met with Mayor of Florence, Sara Funaro, on Friday to discuss the ongoing redevelopment of the stadium, which is owned by the city.
During the meeting, Funaro presented Commisso with a new timetable for the redevelopment of the Franchi that could see Fiorentina remain at the stadium for the duration of the project.
Under this proposal, the Franchi would reopen in phases before the revamped stadium is fully operational in the spring of 2029. This would enable the stadium to have a capacity of 34,478 during the club’s centenary celebrations in 2026.
Work on the Franchi has already commenced, and in July Fiorentina failed with an effort to pause the redevelopment. The club had previously said it would take action against the Municipality of Florence to suspend work on the project, stating that it was uneasy with the prospect of marking its centenary while construction is still taking place.
The latest proposal put forward by the mayor appears to be an attempt to appease the club, which has been at loggerheads with the Municipality throughout the project. Starting from this week, operational teams will hold meetings with the club and the Municipality to evaluate the new timetable put forward by Funaro.
In a statement, Fiorentina said it has shown interest in having an “important role” in the management of the stadium and related activities, adding that there is a “willingness to collaborate” from both parties.
In July, it was confirmed that the Franchi will be reduced to almost half its capacity while renovation work is carried out. Florence’s Provincial Commission for the Supervision of Public Entertainment Venues approved events to take place at the venue with a reduced capacity of 24,786.
The figure represents a reduction from the Franchi’s previous capacity of 43,147, but the number increased from the 22,000 previously stated by Florence’s former mayor, Dario Nardella.
The Franchi is set to be fitted with a roof and new grandstands that will bring fans closer to the pitch, with the new-look stadium to have a capacity of at least 40,000.
It has previously been announced that Fiorentina would spend the 2025-26 season at a temporary 18,000-capacity stadium in Padovani before returning to the Franchi in 2026-27, but the new timetable outlined by the mayor would remove the need for a relocation.
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