The Italian government on Monday he communicated to have extended by one month, in agreement with the European Commission, the evaluation phase of the projects included in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), the program with which the government plans to spend the funds allocated by the European Union for the recovery of the countries affected by the pandemic. The extension was necessary following the perplexities expressed by the Commission on the admissibility of some projects presented by Italy, two in particular: the renovation of the Artemio Franchi stadium in Florence and the construction of the so-called “Bosco dello sport” in the province of Venice, an area that should mainly house a stadium and a arena.
While for other projects presented clarifications or insights were requested, for the two works in question the European Commission was more explicit and contested their admissibility: it does not consider them real works of urban and social redevelopment, as the Italy in the request for funding, which is why their possible exclusion from the PNRR is now being discussed.
The realization of both works was already much debated in itself, especially in the local area. In Florence, the municipality and the management of Fiorentina had already agreed a year ago for the renovation of the nearly centenary Franchi stadium for a total estimated cost of 450 million euros (150 only for the redevelopment of the stadium). The funding provided with the money from the so-called Recovery Fund was initially 95 million euros, then dropped to 55 million. Even after this downsizing, many wondered why public money should be used to renovate a stadium that would then end up under private management, namely Fiorentina.
Despite this, the municipality of Florence was rather confident about the approval of the financing plan as the Franchi stadium is bound by the Cultural Heritage for historical and architectural reasons. These characteristics would therefore have justified the disbursement of funding intended specifically for “public works of cultural significance”, not to mention the redevelopment that would affect the adjacent areas in the Campo di Marte district.
A rendering of the new Franchi in Florence
In Venice, on the other hand, the construction from scratch of an area dedicated to sport, which has been talked about for decades, is planned, given the inadequacy of the existing systems between Venice and Mestre. This area, called the “Bosco dello sport”, should be built adjacent to Marco Polo airport in Tessera, east of Mestre and close to the lagoon. It should host a stadium with no more than 20,000 seats intended mainly for football – therefore for the Venice team – but also designed for rugby, and a sports hall for the local basketball team, Reyer, which is owned by Luigi Brugnaro, current mayor of Venice and one of the promoters of the project.
The total estimated cost of the urbanization works is around 300 million euros, a third of which should have come from European funds. The inclusion of the project in the PNRR was motivated by the importance it should have in the creation of a new urban and recreational area to stimulate the provincial and regional economy. Brugnaro has already made it known that the local administration will continue to support the project, which however, in addition to the inadmissibility received from the European Commission, will also have to deal with the appeal to the TAR presented by the Italia Nostra association, which disputes its environmental impact .
Now the problems for the municipalities of Florence and Venice mainly concern the progress of the works, given that the projects have been approved, the public tenders for the initial interventions have already been closed and the first planning and economic resources have been allocated. The stadium in Florence was also indicated as one of the venues in Italy’s bid for the 2032 European Football Championship.
The exclusion of these projects from the PNRR is not yet definitive, but it is considered probable, given the clarity of the inadmissibility and the other difficulties the government is grappling with in this approval phase which are delaying the assignment of the over 19 billion euros allocated for Italy. For all these reasons it is also hypothesized that the government could take over the financing of the two works with national funds.
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