“By 2026 the Centrale will have a roof”. This is the expected announcement made by the President and CEO of Sport e Salute SpA, Vito Cozzoli, during the closing press conference of the 2023 edition of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia tennis tournament, held this Sunday at the Foro Italico.
“The feasibility project for the extension and coverage has been awarded – he said Vito Cozzoli –. It is a futuristic project that will make the Centrale usable 365 days a year, as is already the case for the Stadio Olimpico. It will therefore become a multitasking, multidisciplinary facility representing a space that can accommodate many other sports in addition to tennis: from volleyball to basketball to martial arts such as taekwondo, but also concerts and shows. So no more big matches suspended and postponed”.
The number one of Sport and Health, speaking of the design process, underlined that “the guidelines have taken into account the landscape, architectural and monumental context of the Foro Italico park. – he added – also of the socio-environmental impact that this project has. 33 competing ideas took part in the design competition, which had been suspended for a long time and which Sport e Salute has “resurrected”. Seven proposals reached the final selection. Now the administrative process will begin and the executive project will arrive within 6 months. Subsequently, the call for tenders will proceed for the award of the contract which will have a duration of two years”.
Cozzoli then reassured FederTennis and Padel and all the fans: “jobs – he specified – they will not stop the Internationals in their natural home. We will continue to play here. No move, no impediment. Because the company which will be awarded the contract, will have to undertake the commitment to interrupt the work during the tournament, allowing it to proceed smoothly. To take them back at the end. We at Sport and Health – he concluded – we are used to speaking with deeds and not with words”
The President of FederTennis and Padel expressed his satisfaction with the news of the “roof” at the Centre, Angelo Binaghi for which “the expansion and coverage of the facility will allow a further step forward for a tournament that – he illustrated – this year he broke all records. Suffice it to say that the economic balance, between higher expenditures and higher revenues, is positive. Despite the adverse weather – continued the summit of Italian tennis – we registered 298,000 paying visitors, of which 26% from abroad and 20% from Rome and Lazio, for a total ticket sales turnover of 22.5 million euros. This event – added Binaghi – according to a study commissioned to the Ernst & Young company, it produced an impact on the territory of 490 million euros, of which 100 million for taxation. I admit that we even underestimated the scope of these Internationals. We passed the exam – concluded the FITP President – and I thank all the protagonists of this organization starting from Sport and Health: we represent the example of a joint venture that works and produces benefits for sport and for the country”.
Photo: Mezzelani