US$217 million football stadium redevelopment contract for Webuild

The Stadio Renato Dall‘Ara during a Serie A match between Bologna FC and UC Sampdori. Image copyright: Vincenzo.togni, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

The project, with an estimated total investment of around €200 million (US$217 million), will renovate and enhance the arena, which opened in 1927, while maintaining public ownership.

The initiative is part of a broader Public Private Partnership project developed by the club with the Municipality of Bologna to update the stadium. The club hopes that the updated stadium will be picked to host some games of the 2032 European Championship, which is being held in Italy and Turkey. 

A key element of the redevelopment will be the stadium roof, shaped like a shell and designed to allow light and air to pass through. The metal structures, added during the Italia ’90 World Cup will be removed, safeguarding the original city walls.

The project also includes the redevelopment of the area north of Via Andrea Costa known as the ‘Antistadium’, and the construction of a temporary stadium in east Bologna, which will host the club’s home matches while work on the Dall’Ara is underway.

The stadium will be built in accordance with UEFA category 4 standards, providing a capacity of more than 30,000 seats with all the stands very close to the pitch, approximately 7m from the game perimeter.

The project design was handled by the GAU ARENA firm of architect Gino Zavanella from Rome.

Webuild Group has previously built nine large stadiums worldwide, including Milan’s Meazza arena, also known as the San Siro Stadium. For the 2022 FIFA World Cup, it built the Al Bayt Stadium in Qatar.