Napoli Stadium Plans Handed Boost as Naples Mayor Offers Up Available Build Sites
Napoli have received a boost in their quest to build a new stadium after the mayor of Naples proposed a plot of land for the Serie A giants to build upon.
Antonio Amente told Italian radio station Radio Marte (via Il Mattino) that the Partenopei could be granted the opportunity to erect a new state-of-the-art football ground 9km north of the city itself.
Club president Aurelio De Laurentiis has long dreamed of providing Napoli with a brand new stadium to play their football in after he described the club's current home - Stadio San Paolo - as a "toilet" in the past.
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That dream could soon become a reality thanks to Amente, who revealed that his good relationship with Laurentiis could lead to something happening in the future.
He said: “I have a friendly relationship with President Aurelio De Laurentiis. I was his guest in Manchester, and we had a good talk on the occasion of Napoli-Sampdoria. We could build a citadel of sport and then, eventually, also the stadium.
“I’ve already presented graphics of the areas involved, one made up of 30 hectares near Mugnano and the other of 62 between Melito, Casandrino and Arzano.
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“We’ll probably meet again after Epifania and I’ll show the President the zones. Obviously we’d have to involve the owners too. The times wouldn’t be short, but also not very long. Our municipality lends itself to logistics and mobility, thanks to the motorway links, and soon the underground station will also be inaugurated.”
Laurentiis spoke back in February after the extremely unusual move of building a new ground with 40,000 less seats in it than their current home, which holds around 60,000 spectators.
That new stadium would, he said, be a 'private stadium' due to the clientele that Napoli would be able to attract due to the plushness of the surroundings, but his idea was shot down by Naples' former mayor a few weeks later.
With the installation of a new mayor recently, however, talks could be reopened over how to fund and build a new ground for the current Serie A leaders.
