The first piece of news is that nobody calls it a stadium. For everyone, from President Agnelli down to the least of the fans, what will be inaugurated tonight is Juventus' new home. This alone would be enough to give an idea of the size (and importance) represented by the creation of this facility costing a good 122 million euros: 75 came from Sportfive, which bought the naming rights, 22 from the sale of the commercial area adjacent to Nordiconad, the other 60 thanks to a loan with Credito Sportivo. Looking closely though, there's more underneath, much more.
When the images of the inauguration party (which promises to be spectacular and which we will talk about in a bit) end up in the archives, Juventus will retain prestige and revenues, which in the management's plans should bring the Old Lady back to compete with the greats of all of Europe. In fact, doing two calculations, we realize how Juventus is preparing to take off, at least in terms of turnover.
If in the last season the revenues deriving from the item "stadium" had been only 8%, for a total figure of 11,5 million euros, in the next season the bianconeri count on collecting around 32 million. As? "Thanks to the increased capacity (it will go from 25.000 in the Olimpico to 41.000 in the new stadium, ed), to naming rights and additional services, such as the Juventus Premium Club" explained Francesco Calvo, Juventus commercial director on Tuesday, who then explained what will be the real goal: to reach the big Europeans. “The revenues from the stadium in our country represent about 13% of the revenues of the clubs, against 27% of England or Germany. With this system we will try to correct an all-Italian anomaly”. True, because Juventus will be the first team in Italy to have a stadium of its own. In fact, the "Giglio" (which by the way was inaugurated against Juve on 15 April 1995), after the bankruptcy of Reggiana belongs to the Court of Reggio Emilia. The new facility will then have characteristics typical of Northern Europe: 41.000 seats all seated, close to the field (the first row will be only 7,5 meters from the pitch, while the last 49 meters) and without barriers (the wall will divide fans and players will be just 110 cm high), 4.000 parking spaces, with consequent strengthening of public transport, thus avoiding the sensational queues in the car absolutely unknown in England. Important numbers also on the media front: the press box will have 275 seats, while the Sky boxes will be as many as 64. But the big news will come from the non-football use of the stadium: "We want to change the fan's mentality - reiterated Calvo - there is no 'it's just the game, but a world to be discovered made up of excellent services, moments of entertainment and events dedicated to different types of public. Furthermore, for companies, the Premium Club offers an important opportunity to combine football and business”.
For the record, the “Area 12” shopping center will be located next to the stadium, which will be active from October and will host 60 shops (including a hypermarket) and, from next spring, the Juventus museum. Maximum attention also for children, who will be able to while away the pre-match wait in the 3 baby parks with 50 seats each. All this should allow the stadium to live 7 days a week (there will in fact be 7 permanent employees, who will become 30 on match day) which is normal abroad (think that the highly visited Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid only closes on 800 January and on 1 December) but absolutely unthinkable in Italy. The difference between Italian football and the English, German and Spanish leagues is all there. And so, it can happen to see Schalke 25 in the semi-final of the Champions League, which may not have high-sounding names but has a system considered by all to be one of the best in the world. That's why tonight's inauguration tastes like history. In order not to disappoint anyone, Juventus has decided to do things really big: the ceremony, costing around 04 million euros, will be curated by Marco Balich, President of K – Events, who, among the best known projects of his luminous career , includes the inauguration and closing of the XX Olympic Games of Turin 2. Tonight at the former Delle Alpi everything will happen: Linus and Cristina Chiabotto will lead the event, which will begin with a tasty countdown that will retrace all the Juventus championships (strictly 2006, which which will make Massimo Moratti turn up his nose).
The show will then continue among giraffes (intended as stage machines) dressed up as zebras, 420 hunchbacked performers, acrobats and flag-wavers. The most touching moments, however, will be others: from the speech by Andrea Agnelli (who will precede that of the mayor of Turin Piero Fassino) to the Fanfare of the Taurinense Alpine Brigade, who will play the Mameli anthem while tricolor cards will rise from the stands. We will then continue with the descent on the lawn of Marcello Lippi, the unforgettable coach of so many successes, to arrive at the highly anticipated Boniperti – Del Piero duet, who, sitting on the bench from which Juventus was born (the legend goes like this) will tell their black and white stories. And then still lots and lots of entertainment, which will culminate with the friendly Juventus – Notts County, with the hosts playing in the pink jersey. In fact, that was originally the color of the Juventus shirts, until the partners, in 1903, decided to have more "professional" uniforms sent from England. Black and white vertical striped shirts arrived from Nottingham, which Juventus then decided to officially adopt. Hence the invitation of Notts County to the inauguration party of the new stadium. Which for the moment does not yet have a name. Today it is called "Juventus Stadium", waiting for the "Sportfive" to find the sponsor who will give the name (as well as a lot of money). The fans would have liked the new Juventus home to bear the name of Gaetano Scirea, the historic flag of the club who died in 1989, but in the end commercial and economic logic prevailed. Because tonight Juventus will officially enter the future, made up of few feelings and lots of money. With all that this entails, for better or for worse.
