Cagliari’s mayor Paolo Truzzu declared victory for the vision of the citizens as their city council unanimously passed a deal with Sardinia. It concerns the financing of long-anticipated construction of a probable Euro 2032 host venue. Deliberations among lawmakers about the investment were taking place in a shadow of controversy.

Paolo Truzzu: “We defended the will of the fans and the citizens”

Cagliari’s new stadium project, written into a financing deal between the region and the city’s municipality, has been approved in a vote by the deputies of the city council. All 31 councilors casted their vote for ratifying a €50 million support deal from the region.

Out of forecasted €157 million for the investment, a hundred is to be given to a company, which will win the tender announced by the city. Cagliari Calcio is guaranteed 10 million for the demolition of its old Stadio Sant'elia.

© Cagliari Calcio

This is an important moment and I think we should be proud of that. Said the mayor Paolo Truzzu. We have achieved a good result with the availability of resources and possibility in the next few days of signing the program agreement with the President of the Region, which will allow us to start working on the tender for the stadium.

As underlined by the head of Cagliari’s magistrate, transferred funds will allow them to think of a new facility for the city and Cagliari football, thus giving satisfaction to the fans.We can also consider an important public work which is a prospect of redevelopment of the entire neighborhood Truzzu added. Now the project is pending approval from local environmental agencies and the government of Sardinia, as far as the spending plan is concerned.

Sant’elia’s successor as opposed to a hospital and a dormitory

Recently confirmed construction plans withheld amendment attempts, which have caused much controversy among Cagliari’s inhabitants. Back in January 2023 another version of the deal was presented to the public by Sardinia’s president Christian Solinas predicting a new home of Cagliari Calcio to be moved to an area distanced from its original ground by over 50 kilometres called Su Stangioni. Sant’elia would need to make space for a big civic complex with a brand-new hospital, student accommodation and public offices.

As numerous sources in Italy claimed, such a radical change in the project would deprive Cagliari of their bidding chance of organizing the 2032 European Championships. Such announcements were met with a categorical opposition by the likes of a former mayor Massimo Zedda, who took the stance of Solinas as a “blatant disregard of the will of future stadium hosts”.

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The region approved a deal for a complex program without proper consultation with the magistrate. We’re talking about a stadium, and a new facility to replace Sant’elia. The Su Stangioni area is believed to be a place where nothing can be done. As far as the public offices go, already existing, unused buildings were not taken into account. Instead, further exploitation of the land is being planned. This is president’s Solinas obsession angered Zedda told the press.

As he added, the overall cost of the entire investment would rise from €157 million to even €1,5 billion.The stadium is our important topic, not urban planning against regulations the former mayor concluded. After an overwhelming avalanche of criticism Sardinia withdrew their idea of moving the new venue and eventually confirmed the original draft initroduced by the Serie A club.

An arena, a hotel and a wellness centre in one - what’s in store for the new Cagliari venue?

Approved blueprints outline building an arena with the capacity of 25,200 spectators.However, due to organisational requirements imposed by UEFA on candidates for hosting Euro 2032, it could be possible to increase the number of seats to 30,000.

Furthermore, the new facility will not only be able to host football, but also every category of sporting event, such as rugby. The venue will also have its uses for non-sport purposes, which is to allow for a quick building costs return and ensure functioning of the arena in between matchdays.

There will be a 4-star hotel with 122 rooms inside the stadium, a panoramic restaurant on the roof overlooking the Gulf of Angels and a wellness center of approximately 4 thousand sq. meters. In addition, there will be conference spaces that will accommodate over thousand people.

© Cagliari Calcio