Stadio Olimpico

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. The structure is owned by the Italian National Olympic Committee and it is used primarily for association football. The Stadio Olimpico is the home stadium of Roma and Lazio and also hosts the Coppa Italia final. It was rebuilt for the 1990 FIFA World Cup and it hosted the tournament final.

For the stadium in Turin, see Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino. For the San Marino national stadium, see Stadio Olimpico (San Marino). For the stadium in Porto Alegre, see Estádio Olímpico Monumental. For the Argentine basketball team, see Ciclista Olímpico.

Stadio Olimpico

Olimpico
UEFA
Location	Viale dei Gladiatori, 00135 Rome, Italy
Coordinates	41°56′1.99″N 12°27′17.23″E
Owner	Italian National Olympic Committee
Operator	Sport e Salute
Capacity	70,634[1]
Surface	Grass 105 × 66 m
Construction
Broke ground	1901
Built	1927
Opened	1932 (partial opening), 1953
Expanded	1990
Architect	Del Debbio (1927) Moretti (1932) Vitellozzi (1953 and 1990) [2] Clerici (1990)
Tenants
A.S. Roma (1953–present) S.S. Lazio (1953–present) Italy national football team (selected matches) Italy national rugby union team (2012–present)

Rated an 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 it is Italy's national athletics stadium. Occasionally, it hosts concerts and events.

History

Throughout its history, the Stadio Olimpico has undergone several renovations.

1937, the Stadio dei 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 in 1932, after a few variations to the original plan. For instance, the construction of masonry stands was not part of the initial plan as, originally, stands consisted of grassed terraces.

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

1953, the Stadio dei Centomila

Panoramic view of the stadium in the 1950s

In December 1950, the working 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. However, the scarcity of funds and the environmental characteristics of the area led to a less ambitious building. 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 stadium was known as Stadio dei Centomila, until renamed for the 1960 Olympics. The building was inaugurated on 17 May 1953 with a football game between Italy and Hungary.

1960, the Stadio Olimpico

Opening Ceremony of the 1960 Olympic Games

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

1990 restructuring and roofing of the stadium

The Stadio Olimpico from above

For the 1990 FIFA World Cup, for which it was the main stadium, the facility underwent an extensive renovation. While that work was underway in 1989 the Capitoline teams Lazio and Roma had to play their Serie A games at Stadio Flaminio. The work was entrusted to a team of designers including the original architect Annibale Vitellozzi. From 1987 to 1990, the construction plan was amended several times, with a consequent rise in costs. Ultimately, the Olimpico was entirely demolished and rebuilt in reinforced concrete, with the exception of the Tribuna Tevere which was expanded with the addition of further steps and of the curves which were closer to the field by nine metres. All sectors of the stadium were provided with full coverage in tensostructure white. Backless seats in blue plastic were installed 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 the Olimpico had 82,911 seats. It was the 14th stadium in the world for number of seats among the football stadiums, the 29th among all stadiums 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 layout from 1990, the Stadio Olimpico hosted on 22 May 1996 the UEFA Champions League Final between Juventus and Ajax which saw the Bianconeri prevail in a penalty shoot-out.

2008 restyling of the stadium

Exterior of the stadium.

An internal panoramic view of the Stadio Olimpico in May 2017.

In 2007, a vast plan of restyling the internal design of 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. It included the establishment of standard structures with improvements in security, the fixing of dressing rooms and of the press room. It also included the replacement of all seats, the installation of 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 70,634. In order to enhance the comfort of the audience, part of the modernisation of the stadium involved increasing the number of restrooms and fixing the toilets. As a result of these improvements, the Stadio Olimpico was classified a UEFA Elite stadium.

Areas and capacity

Curva Sud, used as the home end by Roma supporters.

Curva Nord, used as the home end by Lazio supporters.

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

• Tribuna Monte Mario – 16,555
• Tribuna Tevere – 16,397
• Distinti Sud Ovest – 5,747
• Distinti Sud Est – 5,637
• Distinti Nord Ovest – 5,769
• Distinti Nord Est – 5,597
• Curva Sud – 8,486
• Curva Nord – 8,520
• For end stage concerts/shows it can hold up to 75,000.
• For center stage concerts/shows it can hold up to 78,000.

Competitions hosted

• 1960 Summer Olympics
• 1974 European Athletics Championships
• 1975 Summer Universiade
• 1977 European Cup Final
• UEFA Euro 1980
• 1984 European Cup Final
• 1987 World Championships in Athletics
• 1990 FIFA World Cup
• 1996 UEFA Champions League Final
• 2001 Summer Deaflympics
• 2009 UEFA Champions League Final
• UEFA Euro 2020
• Central Countryside Club Championship Final 2020

Famous matches

Rugby union match between Italy and France at the stadium in 1954

• The 1968 European Championship final match saw Italy win against Yugoslavia 2–0.
• The 1973 Intercontinental Cup match saw Independiente win the trophy against Juventus 1-0
• The 1977 European Cup Final match saw Liverpool win the trophy against Borussia Mönchengladbach 3–1.
• The 1980 European Championship final match saw Germany win against Belgium 2–1.
• The 1984 European Cup Final match saw Liverpool win the trophy after a penalty shootout against native team Roma (regular time ended 1–1).
• The 1990 FIFA World Cup Final match saw West Germany win against Argentina 1–0.
• The 1996 UEFA Champions League Final saw Juventus win the trophy after a penalty shootout against Ajax (regular time ended 1–1).
• The 2009 UEFA Champions League Final saw Barcelona win against Manchester United 2–0.
• The 2013 Six Nations Championship saw the Italian rugby team beat France for only the second time in the championship and the first time at this stadium.
• The 2013 Six Nations Championship saw the Italian rugby team beat Ireland for the first time ever in the championship.

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 1979–80 44,589 31,560

Season Roma Lazio 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 1997–98 52,813 46,058 1998–99 54,309 53,184

Season Roma Lazio 1999–2000 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 2014–15 40,135 34,949 2015–16 35,182 21,025 2016–17 32,638 20,453 2017–18 37,450 30,990

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

1990 FIFA World Cup

The stadium was one of the venues of the 1990 FIFA World Cup, and held six matches. The first five involved host nations Italy. All their Group A matches (1–0 wins over Austria 9 June and United States on 14 June respectively and a 2–0 win over Czechoslovakia on 19 June), their Round of 16 match against Uruguay on 26 June winning 2–0 and their Quarter-finals against Republic of Ireland on 30 June winning 1–0. The sixth was the Final where West Germany and Argentina on 8 July with West Germany winning 1–0.

Concerts

Date	Performer(s)	Opening act(s)	Tour/Event	Notes
23 July 1991	Miles Davis	Pat Metheny Group
8 July 1992	Elton John		The One Tour
16 June 1993	Zucchero		L'urlo Tour 1992/1993
9 July 1993	Pino Daniele
28 July 1993	Litfiba		Terremoto Tour
16 June 1994	Pino Daniele Eros Ramazzotti Jovanotti
22 September 1995	Pino Daniele		Non Calpestare i Fiori nel Deserto Tour
4 October 1995	Renato Zero
8 June 1996	Ligabue		Buon Compleanno Elvis! Tour
27 June 1996	Vasco Rossi		Nessun Pericolo per Te Tour
5 July 1996	Santana	Phish	1996 Tour
7 July 1996	Tina Turner		Wildest Dreams Tour
9 July 1996	Various artists		Live Link Festival
10 July 1996
5 July 1997	Ligabue		Il Bar Mario è Aperto
6 July 1997		Negrita
5 September 1997	Jovanotti
6 June 1998	Various artists		Roma Live Festival 1998
7 June 1998
12 June 1998
23 June 1999	Vasco Rossi		Rewind Tour 1999
24 June 1999
29 June 1999	Backstreet Boys		Into the Millennium Tour
10 July 2000	Ligabue		10 Anni Sulla Mia Strada Tour
4 July 2001	Vasco Rossi		Stupido Hotel Tour 2001
7 July 2001	Sting		Brand New Day Tour
15 July 2002	Ligabue		Fuori Come Va Tour
23 July 2002	The Cure		The Summer Festival Tour 2002
25 June 2003	Carmen Consoli
5 June 2004	Vasco Rossi		Buoni o Cattivi Tour 2004
24 June 2004	Renato Zero
7 July 2004	Eros Ramazzotti
10 June 2005	R.E.M.		Around The Sun Tour
23 July 2005	U2	Ash Feeder	Vertigo Tour
3 June 2006	Ligabue	Tiromancino Velvet	Nome e Cognome Tour
16 June 2006	Roger Waters		The Dark Side of the Moon Live
17 July 2006	Depeche Mode	Scarling. Franz Ferdinand	Touring the Angel	The concert was recorded for the group's live albums project Recording the Angel.
6 August 2006	Madonna	Paul Oakenfold	Confessions Tour
3 June 2007	Renato Zero
20 June 2007	Iron Maiden	Motörhead Machine Head Mastodon Lauren Harris Sadist	A Matter of the Beast Tour
27 June 2007	Vasco Rossi		Vasco Live 2007
28 June 2007
6 July 2007	The Rolling Stones	Biffy Clyro	A Bigger Bang
21 July 2007	George Michael		25 Live
29 May 2008	Vasco Rossi		Il Mondo che Vorrei Live Tour 2008
30 May 2008
18 July 2008	Ligabue		Elle-Elle Live 2008
6 September 2008	Madonna	Benny Benassi	Sticky & Sweet Tour
16 June 2009	Depeche Mode	M83	Tour of the Universe	The concert was recorded for the group's live albums project Recording the Universe.
24 June 2009	Tiziano Ferro		Alla mia età Tour 2009–2010
25 June 2009
19 July 2009	Bruce Springsteen		Working on a Dream Tour
9 July 2010	Ligabue		Stadi 2010
10 July 2010
8 October 2010	U2	Interpol	U2 360° Tour	The performance of Bad was recorded for the group's live album U22: A 22 Track Live Collection from U2360°.
1 July 2011	Vasco Rossi		Vasco Live Kom '011
2 July 2011
12 June 2012	Madonna	Martin Solveig	The MDNA Tour
28 June 2012	Various artists		soundRome 2012
14 July 2012	Tiziano Ferro		L'amore è una cosa semplice Tour 2012
28 June 2013	Jovanotti		Backup Tour
6 July 2013	Muse	Arcane Roots We Are the Ocean	The 2nd Law World Tour	The concert was filmed and recorded for the group's concert film and live album Live at Rome Olympic Stadium.
16 July 2013	Negramaro
20 July 2013	Depeche Mode	Motel Connection Matthew Dear	The Delta Machine Tour
28 July 2013	Roger Waters		The Wall Live
30 May 2014	Ligabue		Mondovisione Tour: Stadi 2014
31 May 2014
23 June 2014	Vasco Rossi		Vasco Live Kom '014
25 June 2014
26 June 2014
30 June 2014
11 July 2014	Modà
26 June 2015	Tiziano Ferro		Lo stadio Tour 2015
27 June 2015
12 July 2015	Jovanotti		Lorenzo Negli Stadi 2015
11 June 2016	Laura Pausini		Pausini Stadi Tour 2016
15 June 2016	Pooh
22 June 2016	Vasco Rossi		Live Kom '016
23 June 2016
26 June 2016
27 June 2016
25 June 2017	Depeche Mode	Algiers	Global Spirit Tour
28 June 2017	Tiziano Ferro		Il mestiere della vita Tour 2017
30 June 2017
15 July 2017	U2	Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds	The Joshua Tree Tour 2017
16 July 2017
26 June 2018	Pearl Jam		Pearl Jam 2018 Tour
8 July 2018	Beyoncé Jay-Z		On the Run II Tour

References

1. "Stadi Serie A 2015-2016" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 September 2015.
2. worldstadiums.com
3. 1960 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 1. pp. 56-7.
4. "Stadio Olimpico – nuove tecniche di safety & security". Vigili del Fuoco. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
5. "StadiaPostcards".

External links

• External view of the Olympic Stadium of Rome
• Rome2009.net
• Brief Guide to Olympic Stadium of Rome
• How to reach the Olympic Stadium of Rome

Events and tenants
Preceded by Melbourne Cricket Ground Melbourne	Summer Olympics Main venue (Olympic Stadium) 1960	Succeeded by National Stadium Tokyo
Preceded by Santiago Bernabéu Stadium Madrid	UEFA European Championship Final venue 1968	Succeeded by Heysel Stadium Brussels
Preceded by Helsinki Olympic Stadium Helsinki	European Athletics Championships Main venue 1974	Succeeded by Stadion Evžena Rošického Prague
Preceded by Luzhniki Stadium Moscow	Summer Universiade Main venue 1975	Succeeded by Vassil Levski Stadium Sofia
Preceded by Hampden Park Glasgow	European Cup Final venue 1977	Succeeded by Wembley London
Preceded by Stadion Crvena Zvezda Belgrade	UEFA European Championship Final venue 1980	Succeeded by Parc des Princes Paris
Preceded by Olympic Stadium Athens	European Cup Final venue 1984	Succeeded by Heysel Stadium Brussels
Preceded by Helsinki Olympic Stadium Helsinki	IAAF World Championships in Athletics Main venue 1987	Succeeded by National Stadium Tokyo
Preceded by Estadio Azteca Mexico City	FIFA World Cup Final venue 1990	Succeeded by Rose Bowl Los Angeles (Pasadena)
Preceded by Ernst-Happel-Stadion Vienna	UEFA Champions League Final venue 1996	Succeeded by Olympiastadion Munich
Preceded by Luzhniki Stadium Moscow	UEFA Champions League Final venue 2009	Succeeded by Santiago Bernabéu Stadium Madrid