Cagliari Calcio continues the lengthy bureaucratic process for the construction of its new stadium, which is expected to be built on the site of the current Sant'Elia stadium (abandoned over eight years ago, with its last match in June 2017), with significant developments. The stadium will be named after Gigi Riva. Today, the Rossoblu club submitted the updated final project, complete with a bill of quantities and the related financial statement, to the City of Cagliari. President Tommaso Giulini's club will immediately begin working on the updated Business and Financial Plan, which will be submitted to the city administration in the coming months.

Cagliari hopes the situation will be resolved once and for all, with the club taking all necessary steps to begin construction as soon as possible. This is also because, as time has passed, costs have continued to rise: compared to the version submitted in 2022, the project has now risen to an estimated value of approximately €187 million plus VAT . This is approximately €40 million more than it would have cost to build the stadium three years ago. In the upcoming discussions, it will be necessary to determine how to manage (and raise) this additional money. One option is the government fund dedicated to stadiums, which should be released soon.

The increase is largely due to a series of additional and complementary works requested by public authorities during the lengthy authorization process: these include requirements, adjustments, and changes (including parking and land reclamation) that were not envisaged when the project was initially drafted, amounting to approximately €15 million. Added to this is the increase in capacity from the original 25,000 to 30,000, required to meet a request from the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) in connection with Cagliari's bid to host matches at the 2032 European Championships.

Precisely in relation to the European Championship, a meeting will be held at the City Hall on July 30th between the administration, Cagliari Calcio, the FIGC, and UEFA delegate Michele Uva, with the decision on the facilities (five in total, with eleven proposals) to be made in October 2026. Two days earlier, on Monday the 28th, Cagliari president Tommaso Giulini, lawyer Antonio Romei, and engineer Alessandro Gosti will have a meeting with Mayor Massimo Zedda , Deputy Mayor Maria Cristina Mancini, Sports Councilor Giuseppe Macciotta, and the RUP to discuss the scenarios and be ready for the next meeting.

Following the conclusion of the environmental procedure (PAUR) at the decision-making conference on July 3rd, a crucial step towards moving forward, along with the recently released €50 million in regional funds , the commitment is to work on updating the project's Economic and Financial Plan (EFP): this, according to current regulations, will ensure the project's sustainability. Without a solid Economic and Financial Plan (EFP) consistent with the new figures, the process for Cagliari's new stadium risks stalling after years of progress .

© Riproduzione riservata