New Bologna Stadium, FIGC Report Ready: Cost Near €300 Million. Fans Back It 55% to 45%

The report is ready and will be sent on September 30th to the FIGC: Exhibition Authority and Bologna Fc aim to nominate the new stadium as a venue for Euro 2032. As reported by Corriere di Bologna, the total cost of the project is around 300 million euros, a figure still to be finalized in details but already set in the financial plan attached to the file.

Who Pays For The Facility

At the base are 50 million euros made available by the two proposing entities, with Joey Saputo still to decide whether to intervene personally or through the club. To these would be added resources from other local entrepreneurs, agreements with private partners—there is talk of a deal with an energy company—and, once admitted to the race for Euro 2032, between 25 and 30 million expected from the Government. The rest should come from Sports Credit and banks.

However, Uefa demands certain financial guarantees and the opening of construction sites by March 2027 for projects still in the design phase, a condition that according to Corriere di Bologna appears currently impossible to meet for Bologna. More realistic would be to stay in the "ministerial pathway", the channel linked to commissioner Massimo Sessa and state funding. In the race for venues Bologna starts behind Firenze, where works are already underway, Palermo, which already has defined financing, and Cagliari, further along with the final project.

The report does not yet include an actual architectural project, but a concept with covered stands and retractable pitch, designed to make the facility usable by the Exhibition Authority on days when Bologna is not playing.

Concerns From Civic Groups

At the Perla cinema, the first public event of Prospettiva Comune took place, the movement led by Luca Prodi and Andrea De Pasquale. According to Resto del Carlino, the group spoke of "absence of public debate" and citizens "bypassed", also contesting the reconstruction by the urban planning assessor Laudani on the city council process.

Among the issues raised, the possible impact on the highway bypass project: De Pasquale reported that Autostrade appeared surprised by the stadium agreement, because the bypass project does not account for the new traffic flows generated by the facility. Urban planner Alessandro Delpiano reconstructed the history of the area, which went from green territorial designation in 1985 to the 2024 turning point with mayor Lepore, who opened up to urbanization for Exhibition Authority expansion. For Delpiano, it remains to be seen whether that area, already burdened by fairs and the Virtus arena, can support the new stadium as well.

The Fan Survey

According to a survey conducted on 1,600 fans by "1.000 cuori rossoblu", 55% support the project and 39.6% are opposed. The Centro Bologna club, which is consulting around 1,500 members, would record even clearer consensus. "I've been drinking water at the stadium for 38 years, the Dall'Ara is my second home but we need a leap forward", said Stefano Dalloli of Centro Bologna club, emphasizing the appeal of the roof planned in the new project.