Serie A stadiums: Why don’t Italian clubs own their grounds?

Serie A stadiums stand out from their European counterparts because the majority are still municipality-owned. This tradition dates back decades, when local authorities financed and maintained most of the football grounds, leaving teams dependent on city-owned facilities. As a result, clubs have struggled to fully capitalise on revenue streams such as naming rights, year-round events and hospitality.

The reliance on the municipality venue has also meant that many Serie A stadiums remained outdated compared to the modern, club-owned arenas that drive financial growth in England, Spain and Germany. However, the future points to a gradual shift. Juventus set a new standard with the Allianz Stadium. Sassuolo and Udinese have followed suit with their own modern homes. Despite Italy's complex bureaucracy and planning hurdles, Serie giants such as AC Milan, Roma and Inter are actively pursuing new developments.

If more clubs can secure stadium ownership, it could make the a wider revival of Italian football, boosting revenues, restoring competitiveness and enhancing fan experience. Read on as we explore why most Serie A  Stadiums are not club-owned.

Why can so few teams build their stadium?

In Italy, stadiums have historically been owned by the state. Despite the sport’s boom over the last 30 years, Serie A clubs have struggled to build new, privately-owned stadiums. The reasons why are, predictably, quite complex.

Italian legal administration is notoriously complex, and the country has a history of delaying important projects of all kinds for years and even decades, simply because any plans must go through an incredibly slow legal process.

It is often the case that football clubs have the money to build new stadiums, but bureaucracy causes them to stall. For example, laws that protect the status of historic buildings, like the listed buildings we have in the UK, are often very rigid in Italy.

This means that clubs planning to build their new ground on the site of an existing one are unable to demolish the existing one. This is the case for Inter and AC Milan, who were told this year that the San Siro has “cultural interest” and therefore cannot be knocked down.

Clubs that fail this process and then try to build their new stadiums somewhere else are normally unable to agree on such a huge project with the relevant council, and so the projects generally stall again.

Why can’t clubs just buy the stadiums they already play in?

There are two main complications which prevent the easy sale of stadiums to the clubs. First, to protect the history and accessibility of state-owned land and structures, it is generally very legally complicated to sell public property to private entities. Councils must consider the surrounding community’s access to public spaces.

Secondly, it can be difficult to negotiate a reliable income stream with the council. It is typically unlikely that a football team will move to a different stadium, and so councils usually rely on the rents that football clubs pay to alleviate any cash flow concerns they may have.

So, without the ability to buy or build their stadiums, the vast majority of Italian clubs are stuck in limbo, playing in decaying stadiums.

As Serie A President Lorenzo Casini puts it, “For industry you need factories and for football you need stadiums. If we look at the situation in Italy, it is disastrous. There is a legal administrative problem with the municipalities. Italian football is still the most competitive, even if we look at other leagues or non-top-level matches.”

Why do clubs want to own their own stadiums?

There are many advantages to owning a stadium. First, local councils are typically very reluctant to renovate stadiums unless they have to. Working with very tight budgets, local government often prioritise other issues and therefore lets stadiums fall into disrepair.

In theory, clubs could stump up the money for renovation themselves, but most are reluctant to add value to an asset they do not own – in the event of a sale, it would increase the price they have to pay. Plus, why would they pay to repair a stadium that they might be kicked out of afterwards?

Another benefit is being in control of what they do with the stadium in terms of layout and matchday experience. You may have noticed that many Italian stadiums have running tracks around the sides of the pitch. This is a remnant from Italia '90.  The cost of the renovation programme for the tournament was 84% over budget, and the committee had to obtain funding from the Italian Olympic Committee, which insisted on some stadiums having the running track.

This move was very unpopular among many Italian fans who felt that their distance from the pitch ruined the atmosphere. When Juventus demolished the much-despised Stadio Delle Alpi just 20 years after it was built for Italia '90, they built Allianz Stadium without a running track, a move that has proven very popular with supporters.

Financial stability and growth potential are the other main advantages of owning your stadium. The rents that clubs pay to the council are always increasing, and owning their stadium means clubs like Juventus not only don’t have to pay rent, but also have more control over the income they receive on matchday from things like ticket and merchandise sales.

Owning such a large asset also encourages foreign investment, and you only have to look at the ever-expanding appeal of the Premier League to see what that can do for a club.

Which current Serie A Stadiums are club-owned?

Alongside Allianz Stadium, four other Serie A stadiums are club-owned. They are Sassuolo’s Mapei Stadium, Udinese’s Stadio Friuli, Atalanta’s Gewiss Stadium and Frosinone’s Stadio Benito Stirpe. It means that some iconic Serie A stadiums are not club-owned. They include San Siro and Stadio Olimpico.

The 60,000-capacity Stadio Diego Armando Maradona and Stadio San Nicola, home to Napoli and Bari respectively, are also notable grounds. Fiorentina’s Stadio Artemio Franchi completes the set, meaning that Italy’s five largest stadiums are all owned by the state.

Atalanta stadium redevelopment is close to completion

The redevelopment of Atlanta's stadium began in April 2019. This involved the building of more modern stands behind both goals. In October 2019, the new North Stand was completed, paving the way for the reconstruction of the East Stand.

This is set to be completed in the next few weeks, which was confirmed by the club on their YouTube channel. Atalanta posted drone footage of the construction work at the stadium with the caption, “The redevelopment of the Gewiss Stadium, the home of Atalanta, is almost complete! The final section of the stadium (i.e. the Tribuna Ovest) is being roofed, and the underground car park is also nearing completion.”

Will more Serie A clubs own their stadiums in the future?

Serie A presidents have made no secret of their desire to own their stadiums. In 2015, then-Roma chairman James Pallotta said the club must have a privately owned stadium to compete at the highest level.

More recently, Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis called for the introduction of a government commissioner who would help clubs build new stadiums, saying, “Minister Andrea Abodi is right about the need for a commissioner for the problem of football stadiums in Italy. Stadiums cannot remain in the unavailable ownership of city councils.”

“Not all city councils have the necessary funds either to transform stadiums that have been obsolete for 60 years or to maintain them. Italian football struggles to wear dinner jackets during its performances compared to other nations.”

“It is important for Abodi to explain to the chosen commissioner that it will not be necessary to espouse the usual ‘bureaucratic’ style that has always encumbered our country, freeing stadiums from complex authorisations that are often subject to superintendencies that are completely ignorant of sports culture, but are accustomed by nature to espouse the aforementioned bureaucratic style in its entirety.”

Three of Italy’s biggest clubs – Inter, AC Milan and Roma – have announced plans to build their stadiums. The two Milan clubs are both planning to rebuild San Siro and make it a 70,000-seater venue. Roma hope that a new stadium in the Pietralata neighbourhood will be completed in 2027.

Many other clubs have opted to stay at their current grounds by renewing their deal with the council, most notably Napoli.

Problems with Serie A Stadiums ahead of Euro 2032 

Italy and Turkey will jointly host the 2032 European Championship. So far, 10 Italian stadiums have been discussed as potential venues that could host games.

• Stadio San Siro (Milan)
• Stadio Olimpico (Rome)
• Stadio San Nicola (Bari)
• Stadio Diego Armando Maradona (Naples)
• Stadio Artemio Franchi (Florence)
• Allianz Stadium (Turin)
• Stadio Luigi Ferraris (Genoa)
• Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi (Verona)
• Stadio Renato Dall'Ara (Bologna)
• Stadio Cagliari (Cagliari)

Only five Serie A Stadiums have to be selected from both Italy and Turkey. There are concerns, though, that the majority of the Italian stadiums listed will not satisfy UEFA's modern requirements due to the lack of upgrades in recent years. Serie A general manager, Luigi De Siervo, said, If our stadiums are not upgraded by October 2026, we risk losing the 2032 European Championship allocated to us.

The issue of stadiums is crucial, and we cannot afford to fail. We have one last chance because UEFA will verify our arenas by October 2026. At the moment, we don't want to lay the blame, but we have to prove that we are united and find the economic resources and responsibility we need. Infrastructure can't just be built for big events; it has to serve forever.

The allocation of host venues will be finalised in October 2026, and given the current concerns in Italy, it seems likely that there will be more stadiums in Turkey instead of a 5:5 split.

Currently, Allianz Stadium and Stadio Giuseppe Meazza are the only Italian grounds with a realistic chance of hosting Euro 2032 matches.