Torino FC has ruled out buying Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino and is opting for cooperation with the city instead. The club is preparing a redevelopment plan based on a public-private partnership model to transform the stadium and its surroundings into a modern sports complex.

Public-private partnership instead of buying the stadium

Unlike Atalanta in Bergamo, Torino do not plan to purchase Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino outright. The property will remain in municipal hands. Instead, the club has chosen a model under which it has formally submitted to the City Council a preliminary expression of interest aimed at subsequently presenting a public-private partnership proposal through project financing.

This mechanism is based on mutual benefit: the investor finances the redevelopment works and manages the facility for an agreed fee, while the length of the concession depends directly on the value of the project submitted. It would replace the current short-term arrangement, under which Torino have been paying the city an annual fee of €500,000.

According to the procedure, once the full technical and financial proposal is submitted, municipal officials will have 60 days to assess its feasibility, after which the city will launch an open tender lasting around 40 days. Given the club’s role in preparing the project and the authorities’ confirmation that the stadium must continue to serve top-level football, Torino would hold a major advantage in that process.

Academic support and “memorandum of understanding”

A key pillar of the plan is cooperation with a world-class university. The club officially announced the signing of a document described as a memorandum of understanding, which will serve as the basis for developing the redevelopment concept.

I am pleased with the launch of the tender procedure, which we have been working on for a long time. Cooperation with the Polytechnic University of Turin, a partner with recognised technical expertise also at international level, is the key to developing a credible and sustainable project, not only for Torino FC, but for the whole city. This is the first step, in line with the procedure envisaged by the stadium law, stressed club president Urbano Cairo.

The initiative has also been welcomed enthusiastically by the university’s rector, Stefano Corgnati. He noted that the partnership offers an opportunity for an innovative approach to infrastructure: Cooperation with Torino FC allows us to explore new directions of innovation within public-private partnerships, in a context regulated by specific stadium legislation. He also added that this is an important opportunity in the context of the urgent need to modernise and renew major sports infrastructure.

© Marco Segato (CC BY-SA 2.0) | Torino FC has abandoned plans to buy Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino and is instead pursuing a public-private partnership, with the city retaining ownership while the club leads redevelopment.

More than stadium: “Cittadella Granata” vision

The club’s plans go far beyond the stadium itself. The project includes the modernisation of the Robaldo youth training centre on Strada Castello di Mirafiori, which Torino already use under a long-term concession. In the documents submitted to the Property Department, the club also referred to the inclusion of the surrounding areas as part of a broader plan.

The goal of both the investors and the city authorities is to integrate the two zones and create the so-called Cittadella Granata – a sports district with spaces open to residents and new land designated for commercial development, following the model of the area around Allianz Stadium.

This would put into practice the vision promoted by mayor Stefano Lo Russo since the start of his term in 2021. After our efforts, which led to the stadium being freed from a twenty-year mortgage, we are pleased to note this willingness to cooperate. It represents another step forward in the redevelopment of the property within the broader project of creating a city of sport, the mayor commented.

Formalities and race against clock

Torino still face a long bureaucratic road. Before any construction work can begin, the key issue is securing the right to keep playing at Stadio Olimpico in the near future. By June, the club must be certain of the stadium’s availability in order to notify the national federation and plan next season’s fixtures.

As a result, the first visible effect of these moves will most likely be another extension of the current agreement. The present concession expires at the end of 2026, but the municipality is expected to prolong it at least until 31 December 2027.

© matteo.cantoni | The project goes beyond the stadium itself, aiming to create a Cittadella Granata – a wider sports and commercial complex integrating training facilities and surrounding urban space.