Fiorentina President Rocco Commisso has threatened to sue the local council over a €100m ‘gap’ in funds to restyle the Stadio Franchi.
The patron has been trying to get a new stadium built, or to restructure the existing venue, since he first took over the club several years ago.
However, the local authorities blocked him from doing so, insisting that handing it over to a private enterprise would be damaging, an issue that has stalled so many of the new stadium projects in Italy.
An agreement was reached for the local council to fund the restyling of the Stadio Franchi and work has already started on the Curva Ferrovia in February 2024.
In March, it was confirmed that the Government had agreed to contribute €55m to the project, as part of the Pnrr investment, bringing the total promised funding up to €157m.
However, President Commisso spoke to the official Fiorentina channels today with a video showing the state of the stadium as it stands and insisted the other €100m is not guaranteed.
Commisso and Fiorentina want guarantees
“The Stadio Franchi is a problem. Over the last few days we met with Minister of Sport Andrea Abodi and Mayor of Florence Dario Nardella. The concerns about the future of the Franchi emerged in every meeting.
“The clear result is that in order to complete the restyling, we need at least €100m. We also only have information for what will happen next season, where the stadium cannot have a capacity over 22,000 if we continue to play in Florence.
“We believe that before starting work on any project, we need to be certain that all the necessary funds are available, and that is not the case for the Franchi, where as I said there is €100m missing.
“We don’t even know what will happen after the 2024-25 season. The first year alone we’ll be losing €10-15m in revenue and that is a problem.
“Starting the restyling work on the Stadio Franchi without the necessary funds to complete the project significantly damages Fiorentina, both financially and in the running of the club, affects its fans and the entire community.
“Clubs have to be able to operate in an environment of predictable dates and costs. In this situation of uncertainty, the only thing we know for sure is that we’ll lose revenue and increase costs.
“In the absence of new elements that can provide some clarity, Fiorentina cannot help but prepare to protect itself and its rights by taking legal action.”
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