Old Town Stadium Project

Stade de Sclessin – Liège

Officially named Stade Maurice Dufrasne, the home of Standard Liège is known as Stade de Sclessin from the neighborhood where it stands.

Built in 1909 it hosted a 1972 European Championship game, and three from the 2000 games. The current capacity is 30,023.

Donato Vestuti Stadium – Salerno

Built in 1931 as Stadio Littorio, it’s located in the city center and hosted the domestic competitions of Salernitana until 1990. Fortunately, it has not been demolished and to this day continues to host matches of the local rugby and American football teams.

With a capacity of 9,000, it has welcomed the Italian Under 21 National Team, the Grande Torino in 1948, and was even used as the set of the film by Nanni Loy “The Four Days of Naples”.

Marcantonio Bentegodi Stadium – Verona

Built in 1963 to replace the old Bentegodi stadium which dated back to 1910. Located in the city center, it reached a record attendance of 47,896 spectators at Verona-Rome in 1983. It was the scene of Verona’s ’84/’85 Scudetto and four Italia ’90 matches.

Currently the capacity has been reduced to 31,045 and also hosts the domestic competitions of Hellas Verona and Chievo. The Curva Sud is Hellas’ hottest terrace.

San Siro Stadium – Milan

Built in 1925 at the behest of the then AC Milan President Piero Pirelli, it underwent two major renovations in 1955 and 1990, and since 1980 is named after Giuseppe Meazza.

It hosted three 1934 World Cup matches and six of the 1990 World Cup, including the inaugural Argentina-Cameroon game, as well as four European Cup finals and a historic gig by Bob Marley. It also hosted 100,000 fans, although the capacity is currently set at 78,275. In 2009 The Times elected it as the second most beautiful stadium in the world. It hosts the home matches of AC Milan and Inter.

San Paolo Stadium – Naples

The home of Naples began in 1952, although it was only inaugurated in 1959. Located in the popular district of Fuorigrotta, it was initially known as Stadio del Sole.

In 1974, on the occasion of Naples-Juventus, it reached to accommodate as many as 90,736 spectators, although now the capacity is 54,726. It was the scene of five matches in Italy ’90, including the now infamous semi-final Italy-Argentina.

Marassi Stadium – Genova

Officially called Stadio Luigi Ferraris, the Marassi, (name of the district that hosts the plant) was built in 1910 by the will of the President of Genoa CFC Edoardo Pasteur.

In 1949, on the occasion of Italy-Portugal, it hosted 60,000 spectators, although the capacity is now set at 36,598. It featured a 1934 World Cup match and four from the 1990 World Cup, hosting the colourful and alcoholic fans of Scotland and Ireland. It’s currently home to Genoa CFC and Sampdoria.

Giusppe Moccagatta Stadium – Alessandria

The home of Alessandria, it was built in 1929 under the name of Campo del Littorio, with the local team just promoted to Serie A.

In 1956 it hosted 25,000 fans, although currently the capacity is set at just 5,926. Gianni Rivera, the future winner of the Ballon d’Or took his first steps on that pitch. Since 2018 it has host the home matches of the Juventus Under 23.

Stade du Parc de Princes – Paris

The home of Paris Saint-Germain was under construction in 1967 and opened in 1972 in the location of the velodrome that had existed there since 1897. It was the home of the French National Team until 1998, and PSG first set foot there in 1974.

Located near the town of Boulogne, it saw the triumph of France at the 1984 European Championship against Spain and hosted the Third Place Final of the 1998 World Cup. It currently hosts 47,929 spectators.

Népstadion – Budapest

Officially named Puskás Ferenc Stadion, construction began in 1948 and was inaugurated in 1953.

The site of Hungarian National Team’s famous exploits from 1953 to 2014, it reached a record capacity of 104,000 spectators in 1956 at Vasas Budapest-Rapid Wien. It was demolished in 2017, when it had a capacity of 38,652. It also hosted large concerts to the likes of Queen and The Rolling Stones.

Stadion De Kuip – Rotterdam

Officially named Stadion Feijenoord, the Feyenoord stadium was built in 1935.

It holds the record of having the most European Cup finals played there. As many as ten including two of the European Champions Clubs’ Cup. It hosted five European Championship matches in 2000, including the France-Italy final. In 2002 the local team won the UEFA Cup against Borussia Dortmund. The current capacity is 51,117.

Stadion De Meer – Amsterdam

Stadion De Meer was built in 1934 by Ajax. It also hosted 29,500 spectators, although the capacity was reduced to 19,000.

It was the theatre of the internal enterprises of the great Ajax by Johan Cruyff. Demolished in 1998, the areas around the old stadium were named after famous stadiums of the world.

Estadio Bombonera – Buenos Aires

Officially named Estadio Alberto José Armando, the home of the Boca Juniors was built in 1938 in the popular district of La Boca.

In 1940, on the occasion of Boca Juniors-San Lorenzo, the capacity reached a record attendance of 57,395 spectators. Currently the capacity is fixed to 49,000. Diego Armando Maradona, who played in the club before moving to Europe owns a VIP stage in the stands.

Estádio do Maracanã – Rio de Janeiro

Officially named Estádio Jornalista Mário Filho, construction began in 1948 in anticipation of the 1950 World Cup, in which it was inaugurated.

There, seven games were played, including the decisive match of the final round of Brazil-Uruguay in which Seleção was massively defeated and that episode became known as Maracanazo. On that occasion the turnout was 199,854 spectators. It also hosted seven games in the 2014 World Cup, including the Germany-Argentina final. It currently hosts the domestic matches of Flamengo and Fluminense and the capacity is now 78,838.

Estadio Centenario – Montevideo

The Estadio Centenario, home of the Uruguay National Team, was built in 1930 to host the first World Cup, which saw the disputes of ten matches, including the final Uruguay-Argentina.

In 1930 the Uruguay-Yugoslavia match saw the presence of 79,867 spectators. Currently the stadium can accommodate 60,235.

Stamford Bridge – London

Built in 1876 to host athletics competitions, the “Bridge” was initially proposed in 1904 to Fulham F.C, but the club declined the offer. Then the owners decided to create their own club and that was how Chelsea was born.

In 1945, on the occasion of Chelsea-Dynamo Moscow, there were as many as 100,000 spectators. Currently the capacity is 41,631. The historic home terrace is known as The Shed.

Lužniki Stadium – Moscow

Built in 1956 as the Lenin Stadium, it was the home of the former USSR National Team and the current Russian National Team, although Spartak and CSKA have both played important matches there.

It hosted the 2008 Champions League final against Manchester United-Chelsea and seven matches of the 2018 World Cup, including the France-Croatia final USSR-Italy. In 1963 it recorded 102,538 spectators, while the capacity is now set at 81,000.

Artemio Franchi Stadium – Florence

Initially known as the Giovanni Berta Stadium, the Artemio Franchi was built in 1930 in the district of Campo di Marte, as the home of Fiorentina.

One game of the 1934 World Cup was played there and four from the 1990 World Cup. In 1961 Fiorentina won the Cup Winners’ Cup against the Glasgow Rangers, and in 1954 was even overlooked by a UFO! The current capacity is 43,147.

Renzo Barbera Stadium – Palermo

Also known as La Favorita, from the park in which it’s housed, the Barbera was built in 1931.

The SSD Palermo house can has a capacity of 36,365 spectators and hosted three games of Italia ’90.
Between the 1980s and 1990s it was the venue for several concerts, including those of Frank Sinatra, Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet.

Sferracavallo Stadium – Sora

Officially named Stadio Claudio Tomei, the house of SSD Sora is known as Sferracavallo, from the street in which it’s located.

Built in 1928, it underwent a profound restyling in 2014. It has a capacity of 5,000 spectators.

La Storia Infinita – FC Juventus

Piazza d’Armi, a place in Turin intended for troop rallies and their parades, was one of the first stadiums used by Juventus from 1897 in unofficial competitions. From 1900 to 1902 it was used for official home games, but was revived in 1904 and 1907, before finally being abandoned.

The first official match was on March 11th 1900 (Juventus v Torinese), and the last one on February 3rd 1907 (Juventus v Torino).

Corso Marsiglia, officially called Campo Juventus, was a stadium owned by Juventus, as well as the first Italian stadium built in the first post-war period and at the time was considered the most modern one in the nation.

It was built in 1921 and inaugurated on October 22nd 1922 with the match Juventus v Modena. FC Juventus played their home games there until June 15th 1933, the day of Juventus v Palermo. With a capacity of 25,000 it was demolished in 1939.

Comunale was built as Stadio Municipale Benito Mussolini in 1932, but later called Stadio Comunale after World War II. Juventus played their first match at Comunale on June 29th 1933 against Újpesti, and their last one on May 2nd 1990, winning the UEFA Cup Final against Fiorentina.

The Comunale also hosted two matches of the 1934 World Cup, three of the 1980 European Championships, including the famous Italy v England match which was marred with troubles, and the 1985 UEFA Super Cup final between Juventus and Liverpool.

Delle Alpi was built in 1988 and was established on May 31st 1990 for a match between a mixed Juve/Toro team and Porto. Juventus played there for the first time on September 5th 1990 in the Italian Cup against Taranto. The Delle Alpi Stadium was abandoned by Juventus on May 7th 2006 after their match against Palermo.

Five matches of the 1990 World Cup, including the semi-finals between West Germany v England took place at Delle Alpi. It had a capacity of 69,295 and was demolished in 2009.

It was also the scene of important concerts such as The Rolling Stones, Metallica, and Guns n Roses.

Filadelfia Stadium – Torino

Talking about Stadio Filadelfia means talking about the history of Torino. It was born as Campo Torino in 1926 by the will of the then President of Torino Earl Enrico Marone of Cinzano in via Filadelfia 36 and had a capacity of 30,000.

It was established on October 17th 1926 for the occasion of Torino-Fortitudo Pro Roma and lived the whole epic of the Grande Torino. Unfortunately, following the tragedy of Superga, Torino gave it as a guarantee to the Federcalcio and from there began an inexorable decline and was abandoned on June 19th 1963, at Torino-Vasas.

Since then Torino have only played at Filadelfia two other official games, the last of which was on June 14th 1986 against Pisa. Having reached a level of total abandonment it was partially demolished in 1998 before returning to life again in 2015 as a training field with a capacity of 4,000.

Also known as Fila or Fossa dei Leoni, it was also the location of three movies: “We All Fall Down”, “Ora e per sempre” and “Il Grande Torino”.

Boleyn Ground – London

The Boleyn Ground, the historic former home of West Ham United, was built in 1904 in East London. It is also remembered as Upton Park, after the area where it was located.

During World War II the pitch was hit by a German bomb, forcing the Hammers to abandon it for a few months. It once hosted England’s national team in 2003 against Australia, a match also remembered for recording Wayne Rooney’s debut in the Three Lions jersey. West Ham decided to move in 2016 to the new Olympic Stadium in Stratford, which was built for the 2012 Olympics Games. A move which left many fans bitter. The final match at Upton Park took place on the 10th May 2016 against Manchester United on a night which was marred by violence outside the stadium. At the time of the demolition in 2017 it could accommodate 35,016 spectators.

Olimpico – Roma

The Stadio Olimpico in Rome was designed in 1927 as the Stadio dei Cipressi, before being completely modernized in 1953 with the new name of Stadio dei Centomila, before becoming the Stadio Olimpico again after the assignment to Rome of the 1960 Olympics.

Also, from 1953 it was used by Lazio and Roma for their home games. In 1968, three European Championships were played, including the Italy-Yugoslavia double final, as well as four from the 1980 edition, including the West Germany-Belgium final. In 1990 it underwent a restructuring in view of the World Cup, which was hosted at the Olimpico six games, including the West Germany-Argentina final. There were also four European Cup finals, one UEFA Cup and one Intercontinental Cup. The record attendance was recorded in 1988 for the concert of Claudio Baglioni, with over 90,000 spectators. Currently the capacity is set at 70,634 seats. It is also the home of Italy’s home games during the Six Nations Rugby Championship.

Santiago Bernabéu – Madrid

The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid was built in 1944 by order of Real Madrid and was inaugurated in 1947 as the Chamartín Stadium with the match between Real and Belenenses. In 1955 it was renamed the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, in honour of the club’s historic President.

It hosted two European Championship matches in 1964, including the Spain-USSR final. Four World Cup matches in 1982, including the Italy-West Germany final, four European Cup finals, two UEFA Cup finals, the Intercontinental Cup, and even the Copa Libertadores. It currently seats 81,044 spectators and is considered one of the most iconic stadiums in the world.

Stadion Dziesiêciolecia – Warsaw

The Stadion Dziesiêciolecia was built in 1954 in Warsaw by the will of the Republic of Poland. Opened in 1955, it could accommodate up to 71.008 fans. It hosted matches of the Polish national team, the Polish Cup Finals, athletics competitions, gigs, political gatherings and even Pope John Paul II was a guest there. Because of the high operating costs in 1989 it was sold to the municipality of Warsaw, which made it a huge open-air market, often of illegal goods, so much so that it became, after the fall of the communist regime, the destination of arms dealers.

Demolished in 2008, on its ashes, in view of the 2012 European Championship, was built the Stadion Narodowy, new home of the Polish national team.

Oosterpark Stadion – Groningen

The Oosterpark Stadion in Groningen opened on 30th September 1933. After several renovations over the years it was closed in 2005, so that Groningen moved into the new Euroborg.At the time of closure the capacity was 11,224 spectators, although it has even reached 22,000. In its history it has also hosted two matches of the Dutch national team.

Giovanni Zini – Cremona

The Giovanni Zini Stadium in Cremona, named after a Cremonese goalkeeper who died during the World War I, was inaugurated in 1929 and has a capacity of 16,003 seats. The Curva Sud, the hottest terrace of the Cremonese football, is named after Erminio Favalli.

Noi della Vittoria – Bari

The Stadio della Vittoria in Bari was built in 1933 and inaugurated in 1934 with the Bari-Comense match.

Unfortunately, during the bombing of the city on December 2nd, 1943, two bombs hit the stadium causing serious damage. After the war The Stadio della Vittoria was completely renovated, so much so that it hosted a match of the Italian national football team on December 14th 1947. In the same year segments of several stages of the Giro d’Italia (annual multiple stage bicycle race) took place in the stadium.

In view of the 1990 World Cup the Stadio della Vittoria was considered obsolete, and Bari football club moved to the new San Nicola Stadium.

The glorious Stadio della Vittoria is currently used by the local rugby and American football teams and has a seating capacity of 19,253.