Being a Romanista hardens you into a skeptical news reader. You learn to raise an eyebrow when you read the phrase “Roma are in talks with Mr. X’s agent about a BIG SUMMER MOVE to the Capitoline club.” You have to stifle a laugh when you see someone breathlessly report that an exciting manager is in talks to take over on the touchline (though the José Mourinho and Gian Piero Gasperini signings have done some work to remove that particular gut impulse). And you better start counting pennies the moment
a sporting director says “We’re not concerned about Financial Fair Play.”
Most of all, every Romanista knows that anything mentioning a new Stadio Della Roma, one that could provide much-needed revenue to the Giallorossi, should be flat-out ignored. And yet, after more than a decade of false starts, abandoned plans, and enough bureaucratic nightmares to make Kafka feel like a poseur, we can finally say it: Roma’s new stadium has been approved.
The final Conferenza dei Servizi decisoria concluded today with a positive opinion on the technical and economic feasibility project for the Stadio Della Roma in Pietralata. Government commissioner Massimo Sessa signed the single authorization, with Rome mayor Roberto Gualtieri countersigning it as deputy commissioner. With that, Roma are authorized to move the Stadio Della Roma project into the construction phase.
As any long-time Romanista knows, the Stadio Della Roma story predates the Friedkin family’s ownership of the Giallorossi. James Pallotta spent years trying to make a project happen in Tor di Valle project, only for that plan to collapse after becoming mired in bureaucratic and political complications. The club ultimately abandoned the project in 2021, in large part due to Pallotta’s sale of the club to the Friedkin Group after continuously hitting brick walls in the stadium development process. Once they had the keys to Trigoria, the Friedkins promptly turned their attention to Pietralata.
Now, with the bureaucratic hurdles largely cleared, Roma can finally start moving from asking “Will we ever build this thing?” to asking “How quickly can we build it?” The goal that’s been presented by the city is to begin construction as early as March 2027. Construction is expected to last approximately two and a half years, putting the stadium on track to be completed by the end of 2029.
There are still steps between today’s approval and the first shovel hitting the ground, but Roma finally has permission to get going on this project. Any remaining questions are fundamentally different from the existential question that has surrounded Roma’s stadium plans for years: can we build this?
Part of the reason the Giallorossi can start building is because they’re fronting a whole lot of money to help develop the area surrounding the Pietralata project. The stadium itself is designed for roughly 60,000 spectators, enough to help Italy host the Euros in 2032, but the stadium project will also be a part of a much larger redevelopment of the area, including extensive public green space and infrastructure. The commitment of more than €1 billion to the overall project and associated works by the club is a statement of intent, and suggests once again that Roma is The Friedkin Group’s main priority in sports for the long term.
Romanisti have been hardened into believing the stadium will never come. I’ve been hardened into thinking that the bureaucracy of Roman and Italian politics might doom the Giallorossi to always be one step below the Manchester Uniteds and F.C. Barcelonas of the world. And yet, here we are. The renderings are that much closer to becoming reality. March 2027 is when we just might break ground.
Everything’s coming up Roma.
