Stadio San Paolo (III) – design description

The concept by GSA surfaced widely in 2015 as part of a bigger offer towards SSCN Napoli. Representing an undisclosed German investor, local construction company Pagliara Costruzioni offered the club to remodel Stadio San Paolo along this vision.

The proposal would see nethier the club, nor the city finance any works. However, in return for this the German investor would operate the revamped stadium and only with Napoli signing a long-term contract to play there. One argument in favour of this deal is that some principles of the architectural concept are similar to those disclosed by Napoli.

First of all, stadium capacity would go down to 42,000, roughly one third compared to San Paolo’s capacity at the time of design. Secondly, up to 4 floors of additional space for commercial use would be created around existing stands, topped by a strip of skyboxes along both sides of the field. And thirdly, outer wrap of ETFE cushions and new roof would give the stadium a much needed aesthetic revival.

However the scheme has one major difference from Napoli’s plan: sightlines. The club aimed at creating a more intimate, football-only stadium. Meanwhile this plan foresees rebuilding the running track, which would put fans far from the field.