FLORENCE – The regional councilor of Fratelli d’Italia Sandra Bianchini and the city councilors Angela Sirello, Alessandro Draghi, Matteo Chelli and Giovanni Gandolfo attack Palazzo Vecchio over the 10 million loan for Padovani. Where Fiorentina should play during the Franchi works. But the club has already made it known that it has no intention of using Padovani for Serie A and any cup matches.
“We are really surprised – write the Fdi representatives – by the decision to access a loan of 10 million euros to expand the Rubgy stadium. In fact, the Fratelli d’Italia council group has already presented a question to the city council. The project, part of the Three-Year Investment Plan 2023-2025, involves a temporary expansion of the stadium’s capacity up to 18,000 spectators to host Serie A and Italian Cup football matches, as put in black and white in the Illustrative Technical Report (March 2024) ”.
It’s a shame that the president of Fiorentina, Rocco Commisso, has publicly declared that the team will not use the Padovani Stadium for Serie A matches during the renovation works of the Artemio Franchi. It should not be forgotten that Padovani has historically been used for rugby, with only 7 international events played from 2010 to 2022.
“It seems completely clear – concludes the note from Fratelli d’Italia – that such an investment is not justified, given that it will not host Serie A football. We want to understand, in detail, for which sporting or non-sporting events the administration plans to use the Padovani Stadium and what the future use plan of the stadium is, such as to justify an investment of 10 million euros, considering the limited past use for international rugby events. Furthermore, we want to ask the mayor if there is a feasibility or cost-benefit study that justifies the expansion. And what are the economic implications for the Municipality in the long term, if spending alternatives have been evaluated for resources intended for more urgent infrastructures. Furthermore, the position of the Region in this matter and, in particular, of some regional councilors of the PD must be understood.”
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