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Cagliari New Stadium
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Cagliari Unveil Ambitious New Stadium Project as They Target Completion in Time For Euro 2032

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Cagliari new stadium plans have been presented to city council officials, with the initial project now boosted by an extra 5,000 seats, in order to rival other locations for hosting duties at Euro 2032.

Cagliari New Stadium Project Boosted By 5,000 Extra Seats

Cagliari have this week presented fresh plans for a state-of-the-art stadium, which has now been improved from an initial 25,000-person capacity, to 30,000.

Italy are slated to co-host Euro 2032 alongside Turkey, and club officials are hopeful that by increasing the capacity to 30,000, the new stadium may enter consideration as one of the locations for the tournament.

Cagliari President Tommaso Giulini sat down with members of the city council to iron out plans to demolish the Stadio Sant’Elia, which has been vacant for several years, after the club moved to their current stadium, Unipol Domus, in 2017.

The new arena, which will be built on the stunning oceanfront area of Lungomare Sant’Elia, will be named after club legend and Italy’s all-time top goalscorer, Gigi Riva.

Why Was Cagliari Stadium Abandoned?

Cagliari’s former home, the Stadio Sant’Elia, is etched into the psyche of Italian soccer fans, even after nature has reclaimed the 60,000 seater.

A stunning example of an era of soccer gone-by, the elegant decadence can be seen beyond its crumbling walls and pitch-sized rectangle of wild grass, still bookended by frail goalposts.

Due to growing safety concerns regarding the stadium, Cagliari left Stadio Sant’Elia in the final weeks of the 2011–12 Serie A season, taking to the field at Stadio Nereo Rocco, Trieste, for the final few home games.

Former club president, Massimo Cellino, revealed: “One of our staff was almost electrocuted a while ago and he risked death. The truth is you risk your life in there.

“In that stadium even the most basic safety situations are absent. If you risk your life in a stadium, then you cannot continue this way.”

For the 2012–13 campaign, Cagliari played its home games outside the city, at Stadio Comunale Is Arenas in Quartu Sant’Elena.

The plans for a new stadium have been in development for some time, with an initial project plan, presented in 2022, aiming to complete a new arena for the 2025-26 season. That, of course, failed to come to fruition, although the new project has been backed by funding from the Regional Council of Sardinia.

Serie A AI predictions have instead touted Cagliari as relegation candidates for 2025-26, so they will be hoping to remain in the top-flight before the stadium is completed.

Euro 2032 Host Stadiums

Upon completion, Cagliari’s new home could be in contention as one of five host stadiums for Euro 2032.

Italy and Turkey, who will co-host the tournament, are expected to be given five stadiums each as UEFA names 10 total locations for matches to take place.

Cagliari, which is the capital of autonomous island Sardinia, is over 350km off the coast of Italy, so it is unclear whether its inaccessibility relative to other mainland stadiums in Italy, may hamper its chances of hosting.

Nevertheless, the city has deep-rooted history in hosting major tournaments — not least the World Cup in 1990, in which it hosted all three of England’s group matches, as a way to control the nation’s penchant for hooliganism.

Charlie Rhodes

Charlie has built a deep portfolio across a wealth of sports websites, with a heavy focus on Europe's top five leagues. He has a long-standing interest in Serie A having grown up watching Football Italia on Channel 4 as a child. With extensive experience tailored towards news, long-form content and heavily researched features, Charlie has also garnered experience in several roles in the fintech and marketing sector.