Cagliari Calcio has signed an agreement with the Costim group for the construction of the new stadium that will replace the old Sant'Elia.
President Tommaso Giulini announced it at a press conference this morning. Costim is an individual holding company headed by Percassi which deals with the “turnkey” construction of large urban regeneration projects.
The goal is to demolish the current stadium in 2023, to begin construction in 2024 and to start playing in the new stadium in the 2025-26 season.
The capital of Cagliari and Costim, approximately 25-30 million, will flow into the new entity. Sixty percent of the stake in Cagliari, forty in Costim. "An agreement - said Giulini - which will become the vehicle company which will hopefully be entrusted with the construction of the new stadium".
The approximately 40 million regional and municipal government grants will also flow into the company. There are already 10 million set aside for the demolition of the old Sant'Elia.
The stadium will be a "public good" managed by Cagliari for 50 years, then it will pass to the municipality.
The total cost of the operation is 125-130 million. Times have slipped and costs have increased due to rising raw material prices and the war in Ukraine.
“We expected to present the final project by the end of February. But we had to recalculate everything due to the growth in the prices of concrete, aluminum and steel - explained Giulini -. The events of recent days have also aggravated the situation. Now the month of May will be crucial: in a sporting sense and for the construction of the stadium ".
“An honor and an investment” for the president of Costim Francesco Percassi, “in the business plan we foresee continuous flows of attendance for sustainability”.
“The stadium will be important for the Sant'Elia district and for the whole city - said the mayor Paolo Truzzu -, it will be an important pole of attraction also for tourists to give a change to the whole area. I see the fact that there is no shopping center as an opportunity for the city, we have an area that can become a large sports village. We want to offer citizens the opportunity to practice outdoor sports but also a place to be used for nightlife and tourism ".
"The idea - added the mayor - is that of a museum of innovation and science, which can be in line with the tradition of the city and in consideration of the fact that as an island we are at the center of the attention of world scientific research. ".
On the capacity "30 thousand seats are needed", clarified Giulini, who made it known that he had received a letter from the FIGC. In 2028 or 2032 Italy could host a European or a major international event, and Cagliari together with 11 other cities is involved in the operation. "We need 30 thousand seats and we will move in this direction starting from the initial capacity of 25 thousand, with the possibility of extending the entrance to 30 thousand spectators".
THE FUTURE OF THE CLUB - Giulini also spoke about the future of Cagliari, the investments seem to deny the possibility of a sale of the club: "We do not close the doors to anyone - the president specified -, we have not been approached by any investor but not them we have not even searched. If there were anyone willing to make the project grow as is happening at Atalanta, we'll see ".
On football: “We come from a more than decent match but we haven't done anything yet. We are trying to recover from a disastrous first round. It will be two crucial months, we must stay focused because it is a difficult and not a foregone goal ".
(Unioneonline / L)
