“A symbolic place through which the State has chosen to make a more systematic presence felt. We help the community to regenerate. It will be not only a sporting place but also a multidisciplinary one.”
With these words the Minister for Sport and Youth, Andrea Abodi opened the press conference, held at Palazzo Chigi, presenting the redevelopment and renovation project of the former Delphinia sports center in Caivano.
The sports complex, abandoned and vandalized since 2018, has sadly hit the headlines as the “theater” of rapes perpetrated against two minors. Then the intervention of the Government which entrusted Sport and Health with the task of giving “light” to the facility, through an intervention on a total area of 50 thousand square meters, for an economic commitment of 9 million and 300 thousand euros.
In addition to the redevelopment of the Equipped Park, by the Forestry Carabinieri, and which will be equipped with small fixed structures for carrying out free-body outdoor sporting activities, the intervention will concern the redevelopment of the former sports centre, through the creation of a sports complex characterized by an architectural setting inspired by the Etruscan remains found in the surroundings of Caivano. The intervention will include, in addition to the redevelopment of the gym, the swimming pool, the multi-purpose pitch and the five-a-side football pitch, also the inclusion of a skatepark, an outdoor fitness area, two tennis courts, three padel courts , a bowling green, an athletics track, a platform for the long jump and pole vault, a wall for sports climbing.
The entire sports complex will be able to host over 40 disciplines.
“Legality is an issue of absolute priority – added the Minister for Sport and Youth – but it goes together with that of social coexistence and opportunity. This concrete signal is tangible, in fact we want to give immediate answers that are not just models and slides. It is a further active and living testimony to the Government’s assumption of responsibility – each in their own role, but together and coordinated – to concretely respond to the commitments made on the human regeneration of Caivano. A few weeks ago we declared our intentions, today we present what has been done and how we will carry out the profound redevelopment work of the large sports centre. The representation of the project is only the first stage of the journey that gives us the perception of what we will be able to see and touch with our hands by the end of next spring. It will be exciting to witness, day after day, ‘brick by brick’, the transformation of the places, also in environmental terms, of what will not only be a welcoming, accessible and functional sports centre, but also a place of culture, humanity and sociality for all, connected to the four schools of Caivano”.
Minister Abodi then focused on the management and use of the multipurpose centre. “We imagine a management that sees the State as the protagonist but not with uniforms but with suits. We are working on a management plan that involves the State’s civil bodies and military sports groups, through their technicians and also involving the Olympic athletes and paralympic venues. As regards use, together with the other Ministers we are working on a plan that provides, for example, free access for students of the schools of Caivano”.
The leaders of Sport and Health illustrated the philosophy that guided the realization of the project and the planned interventions.
“With great enthusiasm – explained the President, Marco Mezzaroma – we threw ourselves into work headlong, because this intervention represents the DNA of our society: bringing sport where it doesn’t exist. The project is called “Illumina Caivano” because we want to illuminate the dark parts of our country. This is why it will be a model that can be replicated in the other “Caivano” in Italy. It is not “our” project, but everyone’s. For this reason we are starting a phase of full involvement of the territory, starting from the citizens of the Parco Verde and Caivano, to share the planning, because it will be “their” sports facility. In parallel, we will also shortly launch a call for expressions of interest from all companies, both public and private, to contribute through sponsorships and supplies to the creation of the Caivano complex. I like to point out – concluded Mezzaroma – as it has been there ever since immediately commendable coordination between institutions. This allowed us to meet the stringent deadlines. We are in line and we are sure that the deadline given to us by the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, will be respected”.
“Illumina Caivano demonstrates how if great skills are put together, even the most complex results can be achieved – said the CEO, Diego Nepi Molineris -. This is the project of a sports center not “for the citizens”, but “of the citizens”. Involvement will be fundamental, right from the start, because we have never believed in “islands” but, as sport demonstrates, in integration. For example, our project involves the connection with Caivano and the Green Park through a connection with, we hope, cycle paths. Once you reach the complex you will be greeted by the equipped park which will be equipped with small structures for outdoor activities. Afterwards, through a covered avenue that takes up the “tunnel of legality” of an institute in Caivano, you will arrive at the square, the central place of the sports center and which will have a tower in its heart, which recalls the Etruscan findings in that area. We have planned the redevelopment of the swimming pool, which will also be usable in summer, as well as the gym. All places that will have windows to let the “light” in. Then the outdoor places, such as the skatepark and the playground which will be set up and decorated by the children of the community, through the activities of working groups that will start shortly. All the interventions will follow the logic of sustainability and green, but also of full use because it will be a structure called upon to welcome everyone: from children to the over 65s. The objective is to “illuminate” Caivano and starting from here also many other areas of ‘Italy”.
The CEO of Sport and Health then went into the merits of the timing of the works: “The first fundamental stage – specified Nepi Molineris – it was the reclamation of the area. Then there are two other steps: starting with the tender which will end at the end of November and then starting the works from December 1st 2023. The goal is to close the works on May 31st 2024. With delivery to the public of the sports facility”.
Also participating in the press conference was the Extraordinary Government Commissioner, Fabio Ciciliano.
“The extraordinary intervention plan represents a fundamental step towards the transformation and improvement of the city. Collaboration between citizens, local institutions and key actors is essential for the development of the territory. We are listening carefully to the voices and needs of the community, and are committed to ensuring that decisions made are the result of constructive and inclusive dialogue. This project – Ciciliano then specified again – it will also represent something more. Thanks to the interventions in terms of the electrovoltaic system, the sports center will provide electricity to 35 families in Caivano. This is what it means for us to commit ourselves in the area in a concrete way.”
The work was concluded by the Undersecretary of State for the Presidency of the Council, Alfredo Mantovano.
“The video presenting the project compared what was there, what was found and what is being done. This is an intervention on an area exceeding 50 thousand square meters with approximately 300 thousand cubic meters of material removed in just 14 days. The project we present today and the entire intervention on Caivano that President Meloni announced on August 31st intends to be a concrete action on a particularly degraded area, but also a model to be used for all ‘Caivano’ on the territory of Italy. But if the intervention on Caivano had been limited to the sports center and there had not been a cleanup not only of the debris of several hundred tons but of the problems in the area, we would have created a beautiful work that would have been ruined a few years later. It is a difficult path, to be taken one step after another, with decision and firmness. I thank those who are working in full institutional coordination. We will consider other areas once we have refined this operating model with many exceptions. The recovery of degraded areas – concluded Mantovano – represents a priority for the government, and what is a priority helps to find the resources, limiting them to other less priority objectives”.
ILLUMINA Caivano | Video
The redevelopment of the Caivano Sports Center