They left their old venue, but cannot move to the new one just yet. What now? Possibly a move of up to 1,000km (!) or playing in front of empty stands. None of those can be called a desired option, Eurosport reports.

The Serie A Side from Sardinia left their home ground of Stadio Sant’Elia after disagreements with local authorities and safety concerns at the dilapidating and very outdated venue of the 1990 World Cup.

To comply with Serie A regulations, the club have decided to invest €1.2 million in nearby Quartu Sant’Elena, where they’re adding three temporary stands to one permanent at Stadio Is Arenas. The ground is to have 16,200 when finished, but so far it’s still under construction. Below you can see the progress in early August:

Meanwhile the season starts in three days (home against Atalanta on Sunday) and both police and municipality denied approval for hosting fans at the new structure. Cagliari immediately suspended ticket sales and season ticket renewals until further notice.

What now? If the renovated ground isn’t ready, Cagliari may move to Trieste, where they already had some games last season. That’s a massive 1,000km from their home town, but no good news for fans – playing behind closed is their alternative at this point.