The Municipality of Florence has confirmed that Fiorentina will remain at the Stadio Artemio Franchi throughout the construction project which will result in the transformation of the Serie A football club’s home.
After an initial decision taken on December 3, the Municipality’s Council yesterday (Thursday) approved a resolution brought forward by Mayor Sara Funaro. A year ago, Funaro’s predecessor, Dario Nardella, confirmed Fiorentina would continue playing at the Franchi in 2024-25, albeit at a reduced capacity.
Construction work at the site commenced in June and there had been suggestions that Fiorentina would require a temporary home at a certain stage in the project, with Stadio Carlo Castellani in Empoli having been linked to this role.
Funaro said yesterday: “The intention is to keep ACF Fiorentina at the Franchi, not only for the 2025-26 season, but also for the following seasons, obviously in each phase and step of the works with different capacities and usable parts of the stadium.
“The resolution establishes that the offices will provide a variant of the project to complete the first stage by 2026. The aim is to complete the Fiesole stand and half of the Maratona, protecting the ‘window’ of the centenary of the team which occurs precisely that season.
“Furthermore, the resolution also gives the offices the mandate to stipulate a new agreement with ACF Fiorentina, for the 2025-26 season with subsequent evaluations to be made in the coming months due to the continuation of the discussions currently underway.”
In October, Fiorentina revealed that redevelopment work at the Franchi could now last until the spring of 2029. This came after Fiorentina president Rocco Commisso met with Funaro. 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, with this landmark having long been a concern of the club with regards how the Franchi project would proceed.
The Municipality yesterday gave an update as to how work was progressing. In the first half of 2024, the old reinforced concrete scoreboard was demolished and structural reinforcement work was carried out on the steps of the Ferrovia stand.
Starting from June, the construction site moved to the Fiesole and to a portion of the Maratona and Tribuna stands with the demolition of additions made ahead of the Franchi’s role as a host venue for the 1990 FIFA World Cup, along with the execution of the necessary excavations.
At the same time, essential works were carried out to ensure that the project could continue while ensuring the Franchi remained fully functional to host Fiorentina games.
The Municipality said construction of the foundation piles for the steps and the roofing of the new Fiesole stand has also started. Restoration work on the Franchi’s iconic Maratona Tower is also in the process of being started.
Fiorentina and the Municipality, which is driving the redevelopment of the Franchi as the stadium’s owner, have been in a variety of disputes throughout the process to secure the long-term future of the historic stadium.
The Franchi is set to be fitted with a roof and new grandstands that will bring fans closer to the pitch. The new-look stadium will have a capacity of at least 40,000. In March 2022, the Italian division of engineering and design consultancy Arup was selected to lead the revamp, securing the architectural and multidisciplinary design contract.
At the turn of that year, the Municipality awarded the contract to carry out the Franchi redevelopment to a consortium made up of the COBAR and SAC Società Appalti Costruzioni companies.
