Hans Kraay
New member
20 Nov 2013
Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Angelino Alfano has cited English Championship club Brighton & Hove Albion as a role model for Italian clubs as the country’s government and Lega Serie A seek to step up a campaign to improve rapidly ageing football stadia.
Italy’s football venues have seen little improvement since the country hosted the 1990 FIFA World Cup, with Juventus’ new home representing the only notable development in recent years. Alfano, who is also Italy’s Interior Minister, believes it is important to remove the layers of bureaucracy that have previously impeded the building of new stadia. Following a Lega Serie A meeting, Alfano said Brighton’s Amex Stadium could be looked upon as a template for Italy’s future venue ambitions.
Brighton moved into its new 30,750-seat home in July 2011. The £93 million facility was delayed for a number of years due to planning issues, but is now hailed as a standard-bearer for projects of its size. Alfano believes new stadia can help in achieving his goal of keeping “criminals and hooligans” away from Italian grounds. “We will work alongside the clubs on new stadia, using Brighton as a model,” he said, according to the Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper. “They need to become places for families, who can spend an entire day together there. It’s time to launch phase two – clubs and state together. The stadia need to be modernised, using private funding. We and the Lega are going to form a task force to resolve the problems.”
Alfano added: “We need to cultivate this sense of sport from a young age. With the stadia open seven days a week, they will be monitored by the clubs, who will be their owners. Delinquents need to be kept away from our stadia. We’ve made a revolutionary and ultra-modern decision and we’re going to facilitate the reduction in bureaucracy.”
Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Angelino Alfano has cited English Championship club Brighton & Hove Albion as a role model for Italian clubs as the country’s government and Lega Serie A seek to step up a campaign to improve rapidly ageing football stadia.
Italy’s football venues have seen little improvement since the country hosted the 1990 FIFA World Cup, with Juventus’ new home representing the only notable development in recent years. Alfano, who is also Italy’s Interior Minister, believes it is important to remove the layers of bureaucracy that have previously impeded the building of new stadia. Following a Lega Serie A meeting, Alfano said Brighton’s Amex Stadium could be looked upon as a template for Italy’s future venue ambitions.
Brighton moved into its new 30,750-seat home in July 2011. The £93 million facility was delayed for a number of years due to planning issues, but is now hailed as a standard-bearer for projects of its size. Alfano believes new stadia can help in achieving his goal of keeping “criminals and hooligans” away from Italian grounds. “We will work alongside the clubs on new stadia, using Brighton as a model,” he said, according to the Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper. “They need to become places for families, who can spend an entire day together there. It’s time to launch phase two – clubs and state together. The stadia need to be modernised, using private funding. We and the Lega are going to form a task force to resolve the problems.”
Alfano added: “We need to cultivate this sense of sport from a young age. With the stadia open seven days a week, they will be monitored by the clubs, who will be their owners. Delinquents need to be kept away from our stadia. We’ve made a revolutionary and ultra-modern decision and we’re going to facilitate the reduction in bureaucracy.”
