Stadio Olimpico

For the stadium in Turin, see Stadio Olimpico di Torino. For the San Marino national stadium, see Stadio Olimpico (San Marino). For the stadium in Porto Alegre, see Estádio Olímpico Monumental.
Stadio Olimpico
Olimpico

UEFA
Location Rome, Italy 
Coordinates 41°56′1.99″N 12°27′17.23″E / 41.9338861°N 12.4547861°E
Owner Italian National Olympic Committee
Capacity 70,634 [1]
Surface Grass
105 × 68 m
Construction
Broke ground 1901
Built 1928
Opened 1937
Renovated 1953
Expanded 1990
Architect Annibale Vitellozzi[2]
Tenants
Lazio (1953–present)
A.S. Roma (1953–present)
Italian football team (1953–present) (selected matches)
Italian rugby team (2012–present)

The Stadio Olimpico is the main and largest sports facility of Rome, Italy. It is located within the Foro Italico sports complex, north of the city. An asset of the Italian National Olympic Committee, the structure is intended primarily for football. It is the home stadium of Serie A clubs Lazio and Roma, and the venue of the Coppa Italia final. The stadium was rebuilt for the 1990 FIFA World Cup, and hosted the final.

A UEFA category four stadium, it has also hosted four European Cup finals, the most recent being the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final. Outside football, the stadium is used by the Italian national rugby union team and is Italy's national athletics stadium. It also occasionally hosts concerts and events of various kinds.

History

Throughout its history, the Stadio Olimpico underwent several reconstructions.

1937, the Stadio del Cipressi

In its first stages, the Stadio Olimpico was called the Stadio dei Cipressi. It was designed and constructed within the larger project of the Foro Mussolini (Mussolini Forum), which was renamed Foro Italico after the war.

Construction work began in 1927 directed by the Turinese engineer Angelo Frisa and architect Enrico Del Debbio. The construction was completed after a few variations, in 1932. The construction of masonry stands was not foreseen; the original stands consisted of grassy terraces.

In 1937, the construction of a second tier of stairs was started, but the work was interrupted in 1940 due to the outbreak of World War II.

1953, the Stadio dei Centomila

In December 1950, the site was reopened for the completion of the stadium. The project was entrusted to the engineer Carlo Roccatelli, a member of the Superior Council of Public Works. At first, the plan was for a stadium with a more complex structure than that actually realised, but the scarcity of funds and the environmental characteristics of the area led to a less ambitious version. On the death of Roccatelli in 1951, the direction of the work was entrusted to architect Annibale Vitellozzi. The stadium now reached a capacity of about 100,000 people (hence the name Stadio dei Centomila, which the stadium was called before 1960), and in view of the upcoming XVII Olympiad, the building was inaugurated on 17 May 1953 with a football game between Italy and Hungary.

1960, the Stadio Olimpico

During the 1960 Summer Olympics, the stadium hosted the opening and closing ceremonies and the athletics competitions. Seating was eliminated in the feet, with the result of an actual capacity of 65,000 spectators.[3] Subsequently the stadium hosted several editions of the Italian Championships in Athletics, the 1975 Summer Universiade (the stadium was the only venue for the Universiade), and the 1987 World Athletics Championships, and still hosts the annual meeting of the Golden Gala.

1990 restructuring and roofing of the stadium

For the 1990 FIFA World Cup, for which it was the main stadium, the facility was the subject of an extensive enhancement. Because of this work, in 1989 the Capitoline teams Lazio and Roma played their Serie A games at Stadio Flaminio. The work was entrusted to a team of designers, including the original designer Annibale Vitellozzi. From 1987 to 1990, the plan of action was amended several times, with a consequent rise in costs. Ultimately, Olimpico was entirely demolished and rebuilt in reinforced concrete, with the exception of the Tribuna Tevere, expanded with the addition of further steps; the curves were closer to the field by nine metres. All sectors of the stadium were provided with full coverage in tensostructure white. Also installed were backless seats in blue plastic, and two giant screens built in 1987 for the World Athletics Championships were also mounted inside the curve. In the end the new version of Olimpico had 82,911 seats, and so was the 14th stage in the world in number of seats among stadiums used for football, the 29th among all stages and the second in Italy, just behind the San Siro Stadium of Milan.

The Stadio Olimpico was host to five matches in which the Italian National Team took part, and the final between West Germany and Argentina. West Germany won the final match 1–0.

With the same conformation of 1990, on 22 May 1996, the Stadio Olimpico hosted the UEFA Champions League Final between Juventus and Ajax, which saw the Bianconeri prevail in a penalty shoot-out.

2008 restyling of the stadium

Interior of the stadium.

In 2007, a vast plan of restyling inside the stadium was laid out to conform to UEFA standards for the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final, which was held in Rome. The work was performed and completed in 2008, having included the establishment of standard structures, with improvements in security, the adjustment of dressing rooms and the press room, the complete replacement of the seats, installing high definition LED screens, the partial removal of plexiglas fences between spectators and the field, and a reduction of seating, to the current capacity of 73,261. In order to increase the comfort of the audience, part of the modernisation of the stadium was an increase in the number of restrooms and adjustments to toilets. These actions have allowed the Stadio Olimpico to be classified as a UEFA Elite stadium.

Areas and capacity

The stadium has a current capacity of 72,698, distributed as follows:[4]

Competitions hosted

Famous matches

Average attendances

The average season attendance at league matches held at the Stadio Olimpico for Lazio and Roma. [5]

Season Roma Lazio
1961–62 30,176 20,730*
1962–63 37,248 17,523
1963–64 31,269 24,979
1964–65 30,176 20,730
1965–66 28,897 21,486
1966–67 35,375 21,680
1967–68 35,902 15,586
1968–69 46,323 21,935*
1969–70 50,625 34,883*
1970–71 45,551 37,979
1971–72 47,990 26,132*
1972–73 44,310 45,591
1973–74 47,597 49,833
1974–75 53,935 44,846
1975–76 44,607 40,859
1976–77 36,899 37,920
1977–78 40,956 38,786
1978–79 48,768 41,059
Season Roma Lazio
1979–80 44,589 31,560
1980–81 51,103 24,148*
1981–82 45,289 21,634*
1982–83 54,510 34,234*
1983–84 52,793 46,908
1984–85 51,421 38,544
1985–86 50,151 25,872*
1986–87 49,138 30,945*
1987–88 42,755 29,790*
1988–89 34,913 32,125
1989–90 # 22,067 20,022
1990–91 43,570 36,371
1991–92 51,609 39,499
1992–93 50,306 49,105
1993–94 52,615 50,149
1994–95 56,356 48,715
1995–96 53,146 46,326
1996–97 50,557 38,699
Season Roma Lazio
1997–98 52,813 46,058
1998–99 54,309 53,184
1999–00 58,915 51,956
2000–01 63,370 48,498
2001–02 59,402 42,684
2002–03 57,160 44,129
2003–04 55,413 49,341
2004–05 49,631 37,516
2005–06 39,726 27,872
2006–07 38,689 25,048
2007–08 35,982 21,607
2008–09 39,396 34,626
2009–10 40,925 36,154
2010–11 33,952 29,122
2011–12 36,219 32,410
2012–13 40,179 31,992
2013–14 40,436 31,905

# In 1989–90 season both teams played at Stadio Flaminio during the renovations of Stadio Olimpico.
* Club was in Serie B
= Serie A winners
= Coppa Italia winners

1990 FIFA World Cup

The stadium was one of the venues of the 1990 FIFA World Cup, and held the following matches:

Date Team #1 Res. Team #2 Round
1990-06-09 Italy1–0 AustriaGroup A
1990-06-14 Italy1–0 United StatesGroup A
1990-06-19 Italy2–0 CzechoslovakiaGroup A
1990-06-25 Italy2–1 UruguayRound of 16
1990-06-30 Republic of Ireland0–1 ItalyQuarter-finals
1990-07-08 Argentina0–1 West GermanyFinal

Concerts

The Stadio Olimpico hosts concerts of some international artists and bands.

Eros Ramazzotti performed at the stadium on July 7, 2004, to a sold out crowd as part of his 9 (nove) World Tour. The concert was made into a DVD, Eros Roma Live 2004. Ramazzotti also performed at the stadium again on June 21, 2013, as part of his Noi World Tour.

Miles Davis performed at the stadium on July 23, 1991. It was his last concert in Rome before he died on September 28, 1991.

Pat Metheny performed at the stadium on July 23, 1991.

Tina Turner performed at the stadium on July 7, 1996.

David Bowie performed at the stadium on July 9, 1996.

Backstreet Boys performed at the stadium on June 29, 1999, during their Into the Millennium Tour.

Sting performed at the stadium on July 7, 2001.

The Cure performed at the stadium on July 23, 2002.

R.E.M. performed at the stadium on June 10, 2005.

U2 performed at the stadium two times: the first one was on July 23, 2005 during their Vertigo Tour, in front of a sold out crowd of 67,002 people. The second one was on October 8, 2010 during their U2 360° Tour, in front of a sold out crowd of 75,847 people. The performance of Bad from the 2010 show was recorded for the group's live album U22.

Roger Waters performed at the stadium two times: the first one was on June 16, 2006 during his The Dark Side of the Moon Live. The second one was on July 28, 2013 during his The Wall Live, in front of a crowd of 50,848 people.

Depeche Mode performed at the stadium three times: the first one was on July 17, 2006 during their Touring the Angel, in front of a crowd of 40,000 people. The second one was on June 16, 2009 during their Tour of the Universe, in front of a crowd of 44,070 people. The third one was on July 20, 2013 during their Delta Machine Tour, in front of a sold out crowd of 56,007 people. The 2006 and 2009 shows were recorded for the group's live album projects Recording the Angel and Recording the Universe, respectively.

Madonna performed at the stadium three times. The first was on August 6, 2006, during her Confessions Tour, in front of a sold out crowd of 63,054 people. The second was on September 6, 2008, during her Sticky & Sweet Tour, in front of a sold out crowd of 57,690 people. The third was on June 12, 2012, during her The MDNA Tour, in front of a sold out crowd of 36,658 people.

Iron Maiden, Motörhead, Machine Head, Mastodon and Lauren Harris performed at the stadium on June 20, 2007.

Bruce Springsteen performed at the stadium on July 19, 2009, during his Working on a Dream Tour, in front of a crowd of 37,834 people.

Psy performed at the stadium on May 26, 2013, before the kick-off of the 2013 Coppa Italia final.

Muse performed at the stadium on July 6, 2013, as part of their ongoing The 2nd Law Tour, in front of a sold out crowd of 60,963 people. The show was also recorded for their official live release on DVD/Blu-ray: Live at Rome Olympic Stadium.

References

External links

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