so the Administration will support Cesena (and Cesena)

A modern stadium, covered with photovoltaic panels and with a new grandstand, entirely paid for by the Municipal Administration. A company, the black and white one and the American one, which must concentrate investments on sporting objectives, with Serie A in the sights, because the Municipality will take care of the rest. Finally, a city, Cesena, which must excel at a national level for youth sports. This is the vision of the deputy mayor and sports councilor Christian Castorria perspective that inevitably takes on primary importance for Juventus fans, to understand the present and future of Cesena and Cesena FC.

The stadium of the future. Suddenly during the election campaign the topic of renovating the central grandstand of the stadium appeared.Orogel Stadium Dino Manuzzi, that is, the missing section of a very modern facility in 1990 (the year of renovation) and which today needs a bit of a general facelift. The first intervention, already budgeted, will be related to bringing bathrooms up to standard in almost all areas to comply with the provisions of the Football League, then we will think about redoing the roofing and being ready (phase 3) for a possible new grandstand.

The bathrooms need to be redone: “With the budget change last April we provided the necessary financial coverage of 170 thousand euros – explains Castorri – by May we will approve the project for the construction of 17 new bathrooms and 11 new urinals and we will carry out the works in summer 2025, so that Cesena can fulfill the requirements set out in the national licenses for registration in the championship. Then we’ll think about the roofing, we’d like to redo it by installing photovoltaic panels everywhere: it would be a great innovation, in Italy only Frosinone can boast something similar while in Europe there are no more than five or six stadiums of this type”.

And then there’s the conversation grandstand: “Our position is simply to be ready in case the funding to complete it arises in the future. As the Mayor said, let’s fish out the idea of ​​redoing the grandstand from the dream book, to complete the ring. Having projects ready will help us allows us to seize any opportunities to finance the intervention. In 2020 we defined the framework – through the City branding project – within which to include the redevelopment of the main city sports facilities. Thanks to that project we were able to obtain three important European fundings (two from the PNRR and one from the ATUSS Funds) – overall we are talking about over 13 million euros – which will allow us to redo the swimming pool, redo the athletics field and expand the Villachiaviche sports center. Who knows, maybe the right card will come along in the next few years also to redo the stadium grandstand: we must be ready with a defined project”.

No to project financing. In nearby Rimini, the construction of the stadium is on the agenda using the project financing method – a private consortium of which Rimini Fc is also part should take on the entire necessary investment by obtaining a thirty-year concession for the exploitation rights of the facility – which on the one hand inevitably links the sporting aspect to the economic one but on the other frees taxpayers from any investment (at least initially). “I don’t believe in this formula – explains Castorri – we have also demonstrated this locally with the investment in the municipal swimming pool into which we directly paid 12 million euros. For this type of service, the Municipal Administration has the authority to make investments in the interest of the city. They only have to take care of the sporting part, of achieving the objectives on the pitch while maintaining financial sustainability while the burden of the structures must remain public”.

Only Dino Manuzzi. Some time ago, or rather an administration ago, at the time of Paolo Lucchi, even the hypothesis of renovating the Cesena stadium elsewhere arose. Castori is categorical on this: “Cesena’s stadium is the Dino Manuzzi and will always be”.

Extra calcium. But perhaps sometimes also used as a multifunctional facility: “The stadium is first of all the home of Cesena football and, more generally, of sport. Starting from this awareness in recent years, especially after the adaptation to UEFA regulations, which took place on the occasion of the Under 21 European Championship in 2019, we have been able to host top level matches: starting from the senior national team, in addition to the Under 21, the national women’s football, the Italian Super Cup of women’s football and, in a few days, the Roma-Fiorentina women’s Italian Cup final. However, again in the recent past, the Manuzzi was also the theater that hosted Rock’n 1000 twice. Demonstrating that, in case there were any doubts, the Manuzzi also gives us non-sporting opportunities”.

The other structures. Linked to Cesena there are two fundamental structures: Martoranello and Villa Silvia. “In Martoranello the Municipality has no role – explains the deputy mayor – the Martorano sports center is private, the result of the commitment of many members who worked for its creation and who are working to make it work as best as possible. It has in fact become one of the reference sports facilities for Cesena Calcio football. Will it expand? The owner showed us the development ideas for the existing sports facilities, especially by increasing the number of football fields and creating a green area for the many families who today frequent the sports center”.

The boutade (in the press) of Villa Silvia 2. In the past, especially under the pressure of the then president Robert Lewis, there was talk of an expansion with the Villa Silvia 2 project, which was first given as a done deal and then fell into a dead end. “Last summer, the company explained to us its desire to expand the sports centre. However, there were no developments”.

The calm returns with Cesena. The promotion to Serie B helped, and not a little, to restore serenity among the fans, after a rather troubled summer, and also in relations with the municipal administration. “Ours is still a short relationship – explains Castorri – when Aiello is here we deal directly with him, otherwise with the secretary Marco Valentini. The beginning of the relationship was marked by a clash, we can use this word, between the two presidents and myself, because I called the club to respect the contract for the use of the stadium. Now the relationship is one of mutual respect, in a relationship regulated by a concession which for the Administration represents, and cannot be otherwise, the starting point for any reasoning”.

Future perspectives. The discussion then expands on the future prospects of this company: “Promotion to Serie B is certainly a great opportunity, but requires an even greater effort from all points of view, organizational, managerial and economic. For this reason, great clarity will be needed in all crucial choices from both an economic and technical point of view. The management aspect is a priority and we have all seen it this year with the arrival of Fabio Arctic”.

US investors. However, one of the main question marks for Juventus fans remains that relating to understanding the Americans’ investment strategy in Cesena: what plan do they have to make it fruitful? Where do they want to go? The deputy mayor’s first response is diplomatic: “It is a private company and it remains responsible for managing the resources according to the right ethics. However, with the awareness that Cesena is the football team of the city, of the many season ticket holders and fans and for this reason it is important that the club always maintains maximum credibility towards anyone”.

Clear objectives. Then there is an addition, which is an admission but which at the same time defines the outline of the role of the Americans: “It’s not up to me to explain what the investors’ strategy is with Cesena Fc (even in the face of a possible transfer of shares, all stars and stripes, ed.) – continues Castorri. I am content with having some well-defined objectives: from a sporting point of view and from the point of view of financial sustainability. Perhaps planning, without anxiety, the return to Serie A. And maintaining and developing a top-level youth sector as in the past. Or simply be credible as a company”.

Cesena and sport. The last part of the chat is dedicated to the city of Cesena and popular and youth sport. “Grassroots sport is part of the daily life of the people of Cesena. It is no longer just a pastime, but represents in all respects a service. Suffice it to say that 72% of children enrolled in primary school in our city practice sports at a sports association, which represents an excellence for Italy. This is why we have been working for a few years to ensure that this service can last over time, creating the conditions to innovate and renew the model of sports promotion in the city.”

Comparison with the past: “Let’s be clear: twenty years ago perhaps the number of kids registered with sports clubs was lower but it was normal to spend more time outdoors doing indirect physical activity. Today, apart from two or three weekly training sessions, unfortunately almost nothing is done anymore , so it is essential that sports services are not entrusted only to the voluntariness of people. In this sense, collaboration between sports associations is fundamental and increasingly necessary, both in the use of facilities and in the planning of activities. In parallel with a process of development of the city’s sports facilities, in recent years we have all worked together to define projects capable of keeping multiple sports realities together. It is not simple, but I increasingly see the availability necessary to make the sports system grow even further Cesena”.

The example of triathlon. An example of the role of grassroots sport, collaboration with local clubs, and the ability to attract public funds to Cesena is given by the new federal national triathlon center which will be built right in the city, in the racecourse area. The Municipal Administration was awarded 4 million euros as a non-repayable grant from a Government tender to sort out goat and cabbage: guarantee the athletics track at Endas and create the federal triathlon centre. “Lthe condition imposed by the government tender was to collaborate with a national federation – explains Castorri – the triathlon company immediately responded to our proposal, thanks to the collaboration with the Cesena company (and the role of the manager Filippo Caporali, ed.) we managed to win this huge sum, I underline, on a non-repayable basis. And the benefits of the new national center that will be built in Cesena will soon be evident to everyone”.