De Laurentiis Calls for New Stadium as Napoli Struggles with Outdated Venue

Aurelio De Laurentiis, the owner of Napoli, has labeled the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona as “a dump” and insists it requires immediate replacement.

In a recent address at the Football Business Forum in Milan, De Laurentiis expressed his dissatisfaction with the outdated facility and urged the authorities in Naples to allow him to construct a new stadium. He emphasized that a modern venue would significantly increase revenue, enabling the club to compete more effectively with their northern Italian and European counterparts.

De Laurentiis pointed out Napoli’s financial challenges compared to teams like AC Milan and Inter Milan, which can generate up to €14 million ($16 million) from Champions League matches. “We can only achieve up to three million in that Maradona dump. That’s quite a difference, isn’t it?” he remarked.

He further elaborated that while Paris Saint-Germain pays the same rent for their stadium as Napoli does, they enjoy full exclusivity and generate around 100 million euros annually, whereas Napoli has limited access to the stadium for just three days: before, during, and after matches.

Describing the stadium as old and inadequate, he noted its features, such as an athletics track and a moat, which distance fans from the action.

In contrast, AC Milan and Inter Milan have taken significant steps to enhance their facilities by announcing plans to demolish the San Siro and replace it with a state-of-the-art arena, for which they have secured funding of €197 million ($226 million) from the city council.

De Laurentiis expressed his willingness to finance a new 70,000-seat stadium for Napoli, stating, “Authorities here are football’s biggest enemies. They do not realize there are 25 million potential voters who care about this sport.”

He called for greater flexibility in stadium development, suggesting that clubs should be allowed to build or convert venues with integrated housing projects, which could generate revenue for long-term investments.

Currently, Napoli sits atop the Serie A table, leading by one point over Inter Milan and AS Roma, ahead of their upcoming match against Bologna. While Napoli remains in strong form, Bologna is positioned four points behind in sixth place and will also be looking to secure a win after a recent goalless draw against Brann in the Europa League.