Soon after it became clear that AS Roma is seriously pursuing building a new stadium, more details are trickling out regarding the possible location for this stadium.
About a month ago AS Roma hired real-estate consultants Cushman & Wakefield (C&W) to make a selection of suitable areas around the city. Yesterday, C&W released a statement further outlining their task:
Cushman & Wakefield LLP (“C&W”) has been chosen by A.S. Roma S.p.A. (“AS Roma”) as an advisor in the process of identifying and selecting suitable areas – ideally located within the municipality of Rome but also in neighbouring municipalities, no smaller than 10 (ten) Hectares (the “Areas”) – for the construction of AS Roma’s new football stadium.
At the same time the consultancy firm invited owners of any sites that fulfil the requirements to contact them.
This invitation is intended for physical or juridical persons who are currently owners of areas with the above-mentioned requirements (“Owners”).
Italian newspaper La Repubblica already has a list of some of the possible sites that have been offered to the club. Most of these sites are located close to the outer ring road (Grande Raccordo Anulare) that circles the city of Rome at a distance of 10 to 12 kilometres from the centre. In contrast, the Stadio Olimpico lies less than 5 kilometres away from the centre.
Sites have been offered in the Guidona municipality (north-east of the city), in the La Rustica area (east of the city), and in Tuscolana in the municipality of the town of Frascati (south-east of the city).
One of the more interesting proposals, however, has come from the town of Fiumicino, which is where Rome’s main international airport is situated. The town has offered a piece of land near the motorway that connects the city with the airport, close to the Parco Leonardo shopping centre. The site would have its excellent transport connections as an advantage, but it lies at about 17 kilometres from central Rome.
Roma’s preference, therefore, seems to be a site in the Tor di Valle area, in the south-west of the city, but within the ring road and at less than 10 kilometres from the centre. The site was already highlighted by club owner and president Tom DiBenedetto one year ago as “il posto migliore, forse l’unico, per fare uno stadio a Roma”, which translates as “the best site, perhaps the only, to build a stadium in Rome.”
AS Roma still has a lease on the CONI-owned Stadio Olimpico until 2015. It hopes to move into a new stadium from the start of the 2016/2017 season.