Stadio delle Alpi

Stadio delle Alpi
Location Turin, Italy
Coordinates 45°06′34.42″N 7°38′28.54″E / 45.1095611°N 7.6412611°E / 45.1095611; 7.6412611Coordinates: 45°06′34.42″N 7°38′28.54″E / 45.1095611°N 7.6412611°E / 45.1095611; 7.6412611
Owner City of Turin (1990–2003)[1]
Juventus (2003–2006)
Capacity 69,000
Field size 105 m × 68 m
Surface Grass
Construction
Broke ground 1988
Opened 1990
Closed 2006
Demolished 2009
Construction cost €200m [2]
Architect Studio Hutter
Tenants
Torino (1990–2006)
Juventus (1990–2006)

The Stadio delle Alpi was a football and athletics stadium in Turin, Italy and was the home of both Juventus Football Club and Torino Football Club between 1990 and 2006. In English, the name meant "Stadium of the Alps", a reference to the nearby Alps mountain range. The stadium has been demolished, and both football clubs played their home fixtures at the rebuilt Stadio Olimpico. A new stadium called the Juventus Stadium was constructed on the site of the former delle Alpi and opened in 2011.

Designed by architect Studio Hutter, the Stadio delle Alpi was originally built in 1990 to host matches for the 1990 World Cup as a replacement for the aging Stadio Comunale, the then name of today's Stadio Olimpico. The stadium's original capacity was 69,041 fans; however, due to FIFA rules regarding the segregation of home and away supporters, the actual capacity was reduced to 67,229.[3]

History

Construction on the stadium began in June 1988, and due to the use of prefabricated concrete, was complete within two years. The delle Alpi was built by the council of Turin, with both of the city's football clubs using it as their home ground following the closure of the Stadio Olimpico. It was originally intended to be used for not only football but also athletics; therefore an athletics track was constructed around the outside of the pitch. However, due to the lack of a warm up track, the stadium was never used for a major athletics event.

The stadium was inaugurated on 31 May 1990 when a joint Juventus–Torino team defeated an FC Porto side 4–3. Due to escalating rental costs, disputes arose between the clubs and the city council. In 1994, the Juventus board investigated building a new stadium, which would be owned by the club. The UEFA Cup semi-final and final matches in 1994-95 were moved by Juventus to the San Siro in Milan, attracting an audience of 85,000. The Stadio delle Alpi was very rarely sold out in its history. Finally, in the summer of 2003, Juventus bought the delle Alpi from the council of Turin for a fee of around €25 million.[1]

Torino was banned from playing Serie A for 5 matches inside the stadium in 2003 due to the violence that occurred on 22 February 2003 inside the stadium clash against Milan.[4]

Attendance

The stadium attendance record was 66,299, set during a UEFA Champions League semi-final (second leg) between Juventus and Real Madrid on 14 May 2003. During the 1990 World Cup, the stadium hosted (among others) a memorable second round match between Argentina and Brazil, plus a semi-final between Germany and England, both matches attracting around 60,000 fans.

The delle Alpi's design was widely criticised due to the poor visibility. This was caused mainly by the distance between the stands and the pitch. Views from the lower tier were also restricted due to the positioning of advertising hoardings.[5] The stadium's location on the outskirts of town never found favour with fans, and the stadium design left spectators exposed to the elements. These factors contributed to low attendances; in the 2005–06 season, Juventus' average attendance was 35,880.[6] The poor visibility led to very low attendances. For example, in the Coppa Italia home match against Sampdoria in the 2001–02 season, only 237 spectators showed up.[7]

Season Juventus average Torino average Juventus trophies Torino trophies
1990–91 43,114 33,990
1991–92 51,832 35,364
1992–93 45,868 26,814 Juventus UEFA Cup winners Torino Coppa Italia winners
1993–94 44,520 26,130
1994–95 47,866 22,205 Juventus Coppa Italia winners and Serie A winners
1995–96 41,946 20,284 Juventus UEFA Champions League winners and Italian Super Cup winners
1996–97 39,271 13,451 Juventus Serie A winners, UEFA Super Cup winners, Intercontinental Cup winners
1997–98 47,347 19,505 Juventus Serie A winners and Italian Super Cup winners
1998–99 47,164 19,627
1999–2000 42,229 21,857 Juventus Intertoto Cup winners
2000–01 41,273 17,077
2001–02 40,687 19,002 Juventus Serie A winners
2002–03 39,771 14,870 Juventus Serie A winners and Italian Super Cup winners
2003–04 34,365 9,831 Juventus Italian Super Cup winners
2004–05 26,429 10,003 Penalised*
2005–06 25,987 24,995 Relegated*

* = Serie A titles were stripped after the club was found to have been involved in a major scandal that resulted in relegation.

1990 FIFA World Cup

The stadium was one of the venues of the 1990 FIFA World Cup, and held five matches. The first four involved Brazil. All their Group C matches (a 2 - 1 win over Sweden in June 10, a 1 - 0 win over Costa Rica on June 16 and a 1 - 0 win over Scotland on June 20) and their Round of 16 match against Argentina on June 25 losing 1 - 0. The fifth and last was the Semi-finals between West Germany and England on July 4 with the match ending 1 - 1 but West Germany winning 4 - 3 on penalties.

Redevelopment

Main article: Juventus Stadium

The Stadio delle Alpi was demolished, with plans for a 41,475-seater venue and a number of restaurants and other facilities outside the ground. The new grounds of the stadium covers around 50,000 square metres. The stadium was completely demolished as of February 2009.

The running track, which was widely blamed for ruining the atmosphere in the stadium, was removed with the fans moved closer to the action.

The addition of this oval ring and set of VIP boxes protected with glass façades characterizes the new inner space. A movable roof covers the new seats and underground services integrates the complex.

This work was followed by the construction of a big commercial pavilion, down as one quarter segment of the stadium. A new Juventus training centre has also been built next to the stadium; this open area is characterized by artificial hills placed between football fields containing dressing rooms and underground parking; a set of light buildings for gymnasium, restaurant, hotel completes the system.

Work began during spring 2009 and it was opened on 8 September 2011, at the start of the 2011–12 season.

Concerts

References

  1. 1 2 "Stadium". Juventus Fan Club Malaysia.
  2. ↑ "The unfortunate legacy of Italia 1990".
  3. ↑ "Stadium". Juventus.com.
  4. ↑ "Torino handed ban". BBC Sport. 25 February 2003. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  5. ↑ Evans, Simon. "Juve plan to halve stadium capacity". ESPN.com.
  6. ↑ "Guide to Juventus". BBC News. 27 March 2006.
  7. ↑ Guardian Online - Guardian Article regarding Stadio delle Alpi March 2006
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