Gewiss Stadium – historical stadium description

How did Atalanta Bergamo's stadium look in a nutshell until the 2019–2024 reconstruction?

Atalanta Bergamo's stadium was built in 1928, and the facility initially had an athletics track and two stands located along the pitch. The main stand received, innovative for the time, a reinforced concrete canopy.

The facility was expanded over the years: more reinforced concrete stands were built on the curves, and the eastern stand also received a canopy. In this configuration, the facility had an oval form and, before reconstruction, could accommodate 21,300 spectators.

The stadium served primarily Atalanta Bergamo, although it was periodically used by other clubs, and occasionally matches of the national teams were also played there.

Between 2019 and 2024, the stadium underwent a major reconstruction, after which it gained a rectangular, football-specific layout. Although it retained some of the original elements from 1928, such as the historic façades and the reinforced concrete roof over the main stand, the reconstruction brought it a modern form that gave it a completely new look.

“New” Atalanta Bergamo stadium after the 2019–2024 reconstruction is presented in a separate presentation

How was Atalanta Bergamo's stadium built?

Atalanta Bergamo was founded in 1907. Initially, the club did not have its own facility and played matches on various fields and squares in the city. Atalanta's first pitch wasn't built until 1914 in Via Maglio del Lotto. After World War I, the club built a new facility on the road to Seriate, known as Stadium Atalanta or Campo della Clementina, which was inaugurated on September 21, 1919.

As the popularity of football grew and Atalanta prospered, the club began to need a new, larger facility. In order to build another stadium, a special entity was formed in January 1928, later taken over by the city. The promoter of the construction was a local politician and Atalanta's president at the time, Pietro Capoferri.

Plans for the new stadium were drawn up as early as 1927 by engineer Luigi De Beni. The facility was built at a rapid pace and was ready by the end of 1928, with an investment cost of 3.5 million lire. The first match in the new stadium was played on November 1, 1928 (Atalanta – Triestina 4–1), and the official inauguration took place on December 23, 1928, when Atalanta's match against La Dominante Genova (2–0) took place alongside various ceremonies.

What did Atalanta Bergamo's stadium look like initially?

The new stadium stood in the northern part of Bergamo, on the site previously occupied by the horse racing track (Ippodromo di Borgo Santa Caterina). The facility received a 430-meter-long gravel track and two reinforced concrete stands, east and west. The main (western) stand stood right next to the former lazaretto building from the 16th century.

Tennis courts with a grand club building and a municipal swimming pool were also built behind the northern curve of the running track. The whole, surrounded by a wall, formed a small sports complex. The capacity of the stands was estimated at 12,000 spectators. The main stand was equipped with a reinforced concrete roof, innovative for the time.

How was Atalanta Bergamo's stadium expanded?

A few years after World War II, in 1949, modernization of the stadium began, which included the construction of additional low stands along the running track (on the curves, but also at the already existing stands, in the lower part).

A solid, reinforced concrete stand on the south curve (Curva Sud), which equaled the height of the old stands, was built in 1958. Construction of a similar stand on the north side (Curva Nord) began in the 1960s. Work was completed in 1971, although the new stand was then still built without the section in the northwest corner; the missing part was added in 1972.

In 1984 Atalanta returned to Serie A after a hiatus of several years. On this occasion, additional metal stands were built in place of the athletics track. The first match after the expansion was played on September 16, 1984: it was the game of the first round of the new season against Inter (1–1), and the interest was so great that the stadium attendance record was set (43,640 spectators).

In 1991, the east stand was rebuilt (preserving the historic façade) and roofed. In 2015, a special, exclusive premium sector with heating and catering for about 400 spectators was created in the lower part of the main stand. The capacity of the stadium was then set at 21,300 spectators.

Who owned Atalanta Bergamo's stadium?

The stadium was owned by the city from the beginning, but in the spring of 2017 Atalanta purchased the facility for about €8.6 million, while committing to a major upgrade of the outdated venue.

What names did Atalanta Bergamo's stadium bear?

The stadium was originally named after fascist hero Mario Brumana (Campo polisportivo Mario Brumana). After the end of World War II and the fall of fascism, it was given a neutral name: Stadio Comunale (Municipal Stadium).

In 1994, the city's then-mayor, Gian Pietro Galizzi, decided to change the name to Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia (in honor of L'Associazione Nazionale Atleti Olimpici e Azzurri d'Italia, an organization of athletes who have represented Italy at least once in one of the sports recognized by the Italian National Olympic Committee).

On July 1, 2019, the venue was renamed Gewiss Stadium, under a 6-year sponsorship agreement with Gewiss (the company offers products and services in the electrical engineering industry and is based near Bergamo).

What are the names given to the various stands at Atalanta Bergamo's stadium?

The main (west) stand is called Tribuna Centrale. The stand on the opposite side was formerly known as Tribuna Giulio Cesare (after the name of the street running right behind it). In 2017, under a sponsorship agreement with UBI Banca, it was renamed Tribuna UBI, and in 2020 its name was changed to Tribuna Rinascimento.

The north stand and home of the ultras (Curva Nord) since 1997 is named after Federico Pisani, an Atalanta footballer who died the same year as a result of a car accident (Curva Pisani).

The south stand (Curva Sud) in 2012 was named after another footballer, Piermario Morosini (Curva Morosini), after the latter died following sudden cardiac arrest during a match. Morosini played for Livorno at the time, but was an Atalanta alumni.

What kind of events were held at Atalanta Bergamo's stadium?

From the very beginning, the stadium primarily served Atalanta Bergamo, although periodically other clubs, Virescit Boccaleone, Virtus Bergamo and AlbinoLeffe, also played there. The Italian national team also occasionally played here (three official matches and one of the Olympic team), and two friendly matches were played by other national teams.

From 1960 until the removal of the running track, the stadium was also used on the occasion of the prestigious Trofeo Baracchi cycling race.

When was the “new” Atalanta Bergamo stadium built?

The reconstruction project for Atalanta Bergamo's stadium can be seen on a separate subpage

In connection with the acquisition of the stadium in 2017, the club intended to carry out a comprehensive reconstruction. The plan was to eliminate the curves (Curva Nord and Curva Sud) and replace them with new stands, located just behind the pitch. The facility was to gain a rectangular, football-specific layout as a result.

The renovation was also to include stands along the pitch, but due to their heritage value, they were to retain much of their existing form and historic façades. In addition, an underground parking lot was to be built in the southern part of the stadium.

All the work was carried out between 2019 and 2024, at a total cost of more than €100 million. Thus, Atalanta gained a “new” stadium with a completely different look, which ranks among the most modern in Italy.