AN ABANDONED 30,000-seater Olympic stadium could become the new home of a European giant after a £332million revamp project was given the green light.
Stadio Flaminio is situated in Rome and was built for the 1960 Olympic Games.
However, years of disrepair and decay saw the arena end up completely abandoned.
As well as athletics, it had also been used for rugby and even music concerts.
And the Stadio Flaminio’s decline into obscurity left locals upset.
However, in 2021, the president of a Serie A football club put forward a plan to rebuild the stadium to its former glory.
He proposed to revamp the arena into a modern-day 40,000 seater behemoth.
And now the dream is on for his top-flight team to make it their permanent home.
The president who is the driving force behind Stadio Flaminio’s rebuild is none other than Claudio Lotito.
He is one of the biggest names in Serie A football.
And Lotito is chief supremo of none other than Lazio.
The capital club currently ply their trade at the Stadio Olimpico.
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Yet Lotito hopes once Stadio Flaminio is complete, Lazio could end up playing there full-time.
His plan, which is expected to cost £332m, is now off the ground after being approved by Rome’s mayor.
Roberto Gualtieri said: “I think the Flaminio stadium project is beautiful and worthy of support.”
As well as repairing the pitch and stadium itself, Lazio president Lotito also plans to transform the surrounding area into a multi-sport facility.
There are amazing plans to house an Olympic-sized swimming pool under the stadium — as well as an ice rink and four tennis courts.
While the field itself would also be used for women’s football and rugby matches, with the prospect of the Italian national team returning there one day.
