Reopening of the upper sector and future elimination of the athletics track: this is how the Municipality aims to guarantee the 14 thousand additional seats and construction sites during the games. De Laurentiis at the table, the project is already in the hands of SSC Napoli.
Three competitions to face, a stadium to renovate and thousands of fans to welcome. The puzzle that the Municipality of Naples must solve has an unpostponable deadline: the 2032 European Championships.
And the solution, according to the administration's plans, could come from a simple but effective idea: reopening the third tier of the Diego Armando Maradona, guaranteeing additional seats to compensate for those lost during the renovation works.
The project was signed by Edoardo Cosenza, councilor for Infrastructure and structural engineer, who delivered the study to SSC Napoli on April 30. The goal? To avoid blocking matches during the works, taking advantage of the unused sectors of the stadium.
The third ring, today with 8 thousand seats, could reach 10 thousand with some minimal interventions. Crucial numbers: when the construction sites involve the lower stands (7 thousand seats) or the curves (5 thousand per sector), spectators could be redistributed in the upper ring, maintaining - if not increasing - the capacity.
But the real revolution is in the overall master plan: the elimination of the athletics track and the reorganization of the rings, on the Maracanã or Olympic model. Without any more divisions between the first and second rings, 4 thousand extra seats would be gained, bringing the total to +14 thousand when the work is completed.
Antonio Conte, who has always supported “bullskin” stadiums, would have reason to rejoice: the fans would be closer to the pitch, as also required by the new UEFA regulations.
The estimate for the design and works is around 30 million euros. The Municipality, which will soon have commissioner powers with the mayor Gaetano Manfredi, will finance the design and will modify the Single Programming Document to unlock the resources.
Meanwhile, we are working on the dialogue with Aurelio De Laurentiis, already involved in another proposal: the “Maradona Experience”, a museum tour dedicated to the Pibe de Oro. The idea, welcomed with interest by the patron, could add international appeal to the facility.
The operation is in record time: with the 2032 European Championship on the horizon, Naples cannot afford to miss the opportunity. And the third ring could be just the first step towards a 60-seat Maradona, finally living up to its name.
Article published on 9 June 2025 - 20:40
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