Centrale Stadium set to become new year-round venue for sport and live music.
Rome city council has approved plans to proceed with a major redevelopment of the Centrale stadium at the historic Foro Italico sporting complex.
The proposal, which must still receive final approval from the city assembly, authorises a redevelopment of the facility which hosts the annual Internazionali d’Italia tennis tournament every May.
The move concludes a design process undertaken jointly by Sport e Salute, the culture ministry, the Lazio Region, the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) and Roma Capitale.
Project
The scope of the intervention is substantial. The project envisages an increase in seating capacity to 12,500, with overall capacity set to rise further depending on the type of event.
Four panoramic terraces overlooking the river Tiber and the surrounding parkland, totalling 2,000 square metres, will be constructed, alongside a glazed screen designed to engage with the surrounding landscape.
Most significantly, a roof covering 6,500 square metres of fixed and 1,700 square metres of retractable canopy will transform the venue into a year-round multipurpose facility.
Accessibility has been a central consideration throughout the planning process. Four new panoramic lifts and metal stairwells will render access and exit routes faster, safer and fully accessible to all visitors.
The city said the plan also provides for an increase in parking capacity, including a new ground-level car park between Viale dei Gladiatori and Via Roberto Morra.
Wider context
These works form part of a broader programme of monumental and landscape improvements to the external spaces, aimed at harmonising the Centrale with the greater Stadio Olimpico complex.
Rome mayor Roberto Gualtieri welcomed the decision, describing the project as an investment in urban regeneration that would render the stadium more modern and fully usable throughout the year, and noting that it helps to valorise an important piece of the city’s urban heritage.
The city’s urban planning councillor Maurizio Veloccia framed the intervention within a wider transformation of the general area, including the redevelopment of the former military barracks on Via Guido Reni, the new Museum of Science, and a planned tramway extension.
Marco Mezzaroma, president of Sport e Salute, described the renewed Centrale as a venue intended to serve the city 365 days a year, capable of generating economic activity while respecting the historical and architectural integrity of the Foro Italico.
Diego Nepi Molineris, CEO of Sport e Salute, outlined the broader ambition to transform a facility currently used for only a few weeks each year into a modern, flexible arena capable of hosting major sporting events, concerts and international events.
Photo Roma Capitale
