Stadio Olimpico

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Lore & Background

Constructed in the 1930s, the stadium was originally known as the Stadio Municipale Benito Mussolini. It was built to host the Littoriali Games of the fascist year XI, held in 1933, and the World Student Games in the same year. Work began in September 1932, and the stadium was inaugurated on 14 May 1933 by the Secretary of the National Fascist Party, Achille Starace. The first soccer match played in the new stadium was between Juventus and Hungary's Újpest FC (6–2), the return leg of the quarter-finals of the Central European Cup, on 29 June 1933. After the stadium's inauguration, it hosted several matches of the 1934 FIFA World Cup. From the late 1950s until the 1989–90 season, the stadium hosted the home games of both Turin teams. It was then abandoned in favor of the Stadio delle Alpi, built for the 1990 FIFA World Cup. Between 1935 and 1986, Juventus were Italian champions 16 times (including five consecutive titles between 1931 and 1935) while playing there. For their part, between 1935 and 1976, Torino were six-time Italian champions (also with five consecutive titles, between 1945 and 1949) at the stadium. In 1998, when Turin was bidding to host the 2006 Winter Olympics, the city decided to rehabilitate the Municipal Stadium, which was in terrible conditions. The renovation project, based on Barcelona's Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys restoration project, maintained the existing structures. The total capacity became 27,168 seats, all covered and seated, lower than half of the original capacity of 65,000 people standing. The renovation cost near 30 million euros. The Olympic Stadium was officially opened on 29 November 2005. After the 2006 Winter Olympics, the stadium returned to hosting football matches of Torino and Juventus. In 2011, Juventus moved to its new stadium, and Torino retained the Olimpico as their home stadium to the present day.

In Their Own Story

The original design stage consisted of an ellipsoid ring whose major perimeter was about 640 metres. The base consisted of a tier of white granite, on which a red plaster plinth rested. The 45 degree sloped stands were formed of the same material, delimiting three glass strips for the lighting of the interior, and crowned by a white parapet. Large windows overlooked the field, bounded by concrete pillars that supported the terminal cantilever, which protruded by more than three meters with an inclination of 45 degrees. The playing field measures 70 x 105 metres, surrounded by an athletics track with six lanes. From 1938 until the late 1950s, the stadium also housed the headquarters of the provisional Automobile Museum (opened in 1939). It served as the main venue of the Summer Universiade two times in 1959 and 1970, and hosted the 1970 Women's World Cup Final. In the 1980s the stadium was renamed "Vittorio Pozzo", in homage to the coach who was twice World Champion with the Italy national football team in 1934 and 1938. For the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games and the opening of the Paralympics, around 8,000 temporary chairs were placed on the stadium field, totaling a capacity of 35,000 people. The modernization efforts included a new main building on the ground floor of a commercial area of 1,163 square meters. Outside was built a new Olympic Park and a new multipurpose arena that hosted the ice hockey tournament during the Winter Olympics, designed by Arata Isozaki of Japan.

Reader's Guide

Entering the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino, you walk into a space that has hosted everything from fascist-era games to Winter Olympic ceremonies. Despite having physically eliminated the athletics track (in its place is a carpet of synthetic grass), the distance between the stands and the pitch has not changed. This caused disappointment among fans, who would have preferred to have the stands closer to the field, as in the United Kingdom. However, during the restructuring held after the Winter Olympics, a new parterre was built, bringing the crowd closer to the front rows. 80 seats are reserved for disabled spectators in wheelchairs, including 64 located in two tribunes raised in the parterre of the first ring of separate stations, 12 in the grandstand and 4 in the boxes. Approximately one third of the lining of the roof is translucent plastic, to avoid as much as possible damage caused to the turf due to less sunlight from the shadow of the roof. At the end of the ground-share with Juventus, Torino could decide to purchase the facility and could rename it "Olympic Stadium Grande Torino", said Mario Pescante on the occasion of the inauguration of the renovated stadium. The stadium is currently rated by UEFA as a Category 4 stadium, the highest ranking possible.

Did You Know?

• The stadium was originally named after Benito Mussolini and was inaugurated on 14 May 1933 by the Secretary of the National Fascist Party, Achille Starace.
• The first soccer match played in the new stadium was between Juventus and Hungary's Újpest FC (6–2) on 29 June 1933.
• The athletics track originally had an abnormal length of 446.38 metres after being redesigned to a single centre.
• From 1938 until the late 1950s, the stadium housed the headquarters of the provisional Automobile Museum.
• For the 2006 Winter Olympics, around 8,000 temporary chairs were placed on the field, bringing capacity to 35,000 people.