Past stadiums – Italy

Maracanã reopens with first test match

The legendary Maracanã stadium in Rio de Janeiro has reopened with a first test match after three years of building works. Before hosting another test match on the 15th of May, it will then officially open on the 2nd of June with a friendly between the Brazilian and [...]

Sampdoria take step closer to seafront stadium

Sampdoria have taken another step closer to realising a new seaside home after presenting their plans to a special committee of the city of Genoa. Sampdoria hope to build a new 30,000 all-seater in the place of the present Palasport indoor arena and [...]

West Ham receive 99-year lease for Olympic Stadium

West Ham have agreed a contract to move into the London Olympic Stadium from the start of the 2016-17 season. On Friday, the club finally received confirmation of the deal that follows on a long and torturous process and saw an earlier deal collapse.

Anji opens redeveloped Anji Arena

FC Anji Makhachkala have found a new home in the redeveloped Anji Arena, but while the Anji Arena has the look of a modern stadium, the rich Russian club of billionaire Kerimov and star player Eto’o hope that their stay at the new arena will only be a temporary one. [...]

Manchester City contemplate Etihad expansion

Manchester City appears to be considering expanding the Etihad Stadium with an extra tier to the Family and South Stand. This has become clear from a survey the club has sent out to its fans. The survey, which was sent by email, starts like [...]

Opening Grêmio Arena marks a new dawn in Brazilian football

The 2012 Brazilian Séria A season has just finished, but when the new season starts in May 2013, much will have changed. The reason for this is that the largest country of South America will be swept by a series of stadium openings in the next [...]

Real Madrid showcases four proposals for redeveloped Bernabéu

At the end of last Sunday’s member’s assembly, Real Madrid chairman Florentina Pérez had a little surprise for the socios. These were four models of four different proposals for the redevelopment of Estadio Santiago Bernabéu. The models had been vigorously kept secret [...]

The Iraqi stadium boom

While it is not uncommon for shiny new stadiums to get built in places where you would not expect them, there is something even more special going on in Iraq right now: an actual stadium boom. The Arab country, still recovering from the war, has decided to put some of its oil money in a massive overhaul of [...]

Pompey’s broken dreams

Oh, how times can change. Let me give the word to Peter Storrie, ex-chairman of Portsmouth FC: Portsmouth is moving into a new dawn with the backing of owner Alexandre Gaydamak and these are very exciting times for the club both on and off the field. The new [...]

2012 review – the world of football stadiums

It is the end of December, which means that it is tradition to look back at the year we are about the finish. In our case, it means looking back at what happened in the fascinating world of football stadiums. The year 2012 came off the back of a prolific 2011 in terms of [...]