Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo – stadium description

It may not be among Italy’s major stadia any more, but it’s currently the second oldest stadium still in use, dating back to 1913. Of course when opened it had only one wooden grandstand (west side) and was the only stadium in historical island part of Venice.

In 1920s the existing main grandstand replaced previous structures and began gradually expanding towards the curves (there was a running track in place). The layout changed drastically after tornado of 1971, which left the stadium heavily damaged. Much of it was never properly rebuilt, especially that discussions about building a new stadium on dry land began as far back as 1960s, still without any outcome.

Today the stadium has only one permanent grandstand, while three others are temporary tubular structures standing where the running track used to be. They gave Unione Venezia some 10,000 capacity, but were reduced following regulation changes. In 2015-2017 further upgrades saw capacity drop even below 7,400.

How Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo compares to other Serie A stadiums?