With soccer rapidly evolving, Juventus need to build the foundations to meet future needs. Their 41,507 capacity at the magnificent Allianz Stadium in Turin may not suffice.
Completed for the 2011/12 Serie A season at a cost of €155 million (US$168m) and the first club-owned soccer stadium in Italy, Juve’s new home initially became a cauldron for visitors.
Notts County, the world’s oldest professional club and the team that inspired Juventus to sport their now infamous black and white striped jersey, were the inaugural opponents for the Bianconeri in September 2011.
A Luca Toni tap-in, after ‘keeper Rob Burch parried Fabio Quagliarella's 53rd-minute spot-kick, was cancelled out by a late equaliser from the English League Out outfit's Lee Hughes in the entertaining pre-season friendly.
New-found success inside cauldron
The spanking new stadium became a new home for Juventus and a new way of success for the Turin titans, who only tasted three defeats in their initial 100 Serie A contests. This was partly attributed to the stands being positioned just 7.5 meters from the hallowed pitch.
The Juventus Stadium, renamed the Allianz Stadium for sponsorship purposes since July 2017, is frequently referred to by Italian soccer supporters as Lo Stadium (“the Stadium”). This is because Juve were the first Serie A club to build and own their stadium.
With lofty ambitions, and other European teams increasing their capacity, the Bianconeri are considering following suit by making a move. However, the club should not forget that after they controversially moved from Stadio Comunale to the 67,000-capacity Stadio delle Alpi, they were rarely more than one-third full for matchdays.
European football pays big bucks, especially with UEFA revamping their formats for Champions League, Conference League and Europa League competitions. Understandably Juventus are not the only Italian club exploring plans to expand their stadium, but are the only outfit that could possibly build a new home.
The evolution of a cutting-edge Juve stadium, which should generate more financial gain through gate money income, would require another impressive venue.
Project Motta is under scrutiny
Kicking around the logistics before planning such a significant project is as far as the club has progressed. Yet the focus at Juventus is now on securing Champions League soccer next season.
Under-fire Juve head coach Thiago Motta knows that achievement would be no feat as only the top four teams in Serie A progress to the elite European competition.
This campaign the Scudetto is a three-team race between Atalanta, Inter Milan and Napoli, while Juventus are one of six sides in the mix for a fourth place finish at the end of the season.
Should the Bianconeri miss out on Champions League soccer next term it would be a financial burden that would ultimately delay any plans to build an even better home than the Allianz Stadium.