Author: World of Stadiums

The Italian government has suspended all major sports events across the country because of the COVID-19 outbreak. The Serie A, the Italian top-flight football league, is among the most popular sports leagues in the world. The league already faced empty stadiums because of the COVID-19 outbreak and it will be suspended until at least 3 April 2020. Public events have been banned due to the COVID-19 outbreak, which has affected the Italian Republic significantly. It is unclear what will happen with the international fixtures scheduled to take place in the next weeks.

The defending Serie A champions Juventus Football Club are scheduled to host Olympique lyonnais from France in the prestigious UEFA Champions League on 17 March. The game might be suspended. Juventus defeated Internazionale 2-0 in an empty stadium on Sunday. The world famous Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo from Juventus jokingly applauded the empty stands. It also is unclear what will happen with the European championship for national football teams, which is scheduled to take place in various countries in the summer of 2020. The first match of the tournament is scheduled to take place on 12 June in Rome.

Numerous football matches in several Asian and European countries will be played without spectators because of the COVID-19 outbreak, which started in China. Coronavirus cases have been reported in Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania and South America. In January 2020, the first match without an audience because of the COVID-19 outbreak was played in China. The match, which took place in Shanghai, was won by SIPG after defeating Buriram United from Thailand 3-0. Players from both teams were arriving wearing face masks.

The Italian Republic currently is the European country with the most COVID-19 cases. All major Italian sports events will be played without spectators until 3 April 2020. The UEFA Europa League match between the Italian side Internazionale and the Bulgarian side Ludogorets was the first European match which was played without an audience because of the COVID-19 outbreak. The game, which took place in Milan, ended in a 2-1 victory for the home side. Japan, Korea, Poland, the Swiss Confederation and Vietnam also announced to host major sports events without fans to limit the spread of the COVID-19 cases.

Nottingham Forest, the fourth club from the United Kingdom which won the European championship for football clubs, currently play in the second division of the English football league system. They want to renovate their current home venue. The project is estimated to cost around £100 million. Nottingham Forest Football Club aim to start the redevelopment of the stadium at the end of this football season. Plans include building a new Peter Taylor Stand and improvements to the other sides. The capacity of the venue is 30,000 and it might be 38,000 in 2021.

The 51,000-capacity DHL Newlands, one of the oldest rugby union stadiums in the world, opened in 1888. It might soon be demolished to make place for residential development. People started a petition to save the venue, which hosted four matches for the Rugby World Cup in 1995. The 55,000-capacity Cape Town Stadium might become the main venue for rugby union in Cape Town. It hosted several matches for the FIFA World Cup, the prestigious world championship for national football teams, in 2010. The stadium, which is currently used mostly for football matches, became a burden on public finances. Hosting more rugby union matches might help.

The English football club Everton have plans to move to a new stadium with a proposed capacity of 52,000. If the plans will be approved in 2020, it will probably take around three years to complete the construction of the venue. The management of Everton Football Club claims that the stadium will provide a huge boost to the economy of Liverpool if it will be built. The 39,000-capacity Goodison Park, the current home of Everton Football Club, will be demolished if the proposed stadium will be built. Everton have been tenants of their current home venue, which is also known as The Grand Old Lady, since 1892.

The construction of a new football stadium in Valencia started in 2007. It was due to be completed in 2009, but the venue is not ready yet. In 2009, construction work was halted for financial reasons. The Spanish club Valencia CF still want to move to the stadium, but they have to be quick. The deteriorating concrete structure will have to be destroyed if construction will not go forward in the following years. The planned stadium capacity is much lower than the initial plans to cut costs. If the stadium will ever be ready, it will be among the largest sports venues by capacity in Spain.

The Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, which is nicknamed San Siro, is the home of the world famous Italian football clubs AC Milan and Internazionale. AC Milan have been tenants of the stadium since 1926 and Inter have been tenants of the stadium since 1947. The venue is named after a former football player of AC Milan and Internazionale. The Italian football clubs from Milan have serious plans to move to a new 60,000-capacity home venue. The Stadio Giuseppe Meazza might be demolished, but it is very unlikely that this will happen before 2026. The 80,000-capacity stadium was chosen to host the opening ceremony for the Winter Olympic Games in 2026.

The Chicago Fire currently play their home games in Bridgeview, a town in Illinois. The Fire will be able to find a new home venue after their agreement with Bridgeview. They want to return to the city of Chicago. In 1998, the Chicago Fire played their inaugural Major League Soccer season at the Soldier Field in Chicago. At the time, the capacity of the Soldier Field was 66,000. The Chicago Fire drew an average home attendance of 17,000 in their inaugural season. They moved to Bridgeview in 2006, but they might return to the Soldier Field for home games.

The stadium used by Real Madrid, the football club with the most world championship titles, will have a new exterior and a retractable roof. It will also have a 360-degree video screen. The Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, which has a capacity of 81,000, opened in 1947. Its initial capacity was 75,000. The stadium hosted a FIFA World Cup final in 1982, which was won by the national football team of the Italian Republic in front of 90,000 spectators. The world famous Spanish football giants Real Madrid recently announced the selection of its main contractor for the redevelopment of their current home venue. One of Spain’s leading construction companies has landed the contract.

Real Madrid wants to play home games at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, which hosted numerous football matches with attendances above 100,000, throughout reconstruction. The club has assured fans from around the world that its museum, its stadium tours and its store will be available during renovation works. The works are planned to be ready in 2022. Real Madrid secured funding and agreed loans to cover the project, which is expected to costs €525 million. Major non-matchday boost should be generated by a hotel, restaurants and retail outlets.

Plans for a new stadium in Zagreb have been confirmed by the president of the Croatian football association. The president hopes to have a brand new stadium in the next two years, but those plans seem to be overly optimistic. Older plans for a new 50,000-capacity stadium in Zagreb never became a reality. Stadion Maksimir is currently known as the largest sports venue by capacity in Zagreb, but the venue is widely regared as outdated. The 35,000-capacity Stadion Maksimir is the home of Dinamo Zagreb, the most successful Croatian football club. The national football team of Croatia, who lost the 2018 FIFA World Cup final against the French Republic, also played numerous matches at the venue.