The completion of the school field, the extraordinary intervention on the Palaradi, more free sports areas in the neighborhoods and the maintenance of municipal facilities. These are the main priorities for sport of the centre-left mayoral candidate Andrew Virgil.
“Cremona has a very deep-rooted sporting fabric. In the coming years – has explained – it will be necessary to support city sport so that it continues to be an inclusive tool and an educational tool accessible to all. To do this we will continue to enhance sports areas in the neighborhoods, as tools for aggregation and protection of the territory; we will continue the maintenance of the city’s sports facilities; we will implement projects that guarantee access to sports even for vulnerable individuals; we will strengthen projects in favor of introducing young people to sport, giving continuity to the experiences developed in the school environment, especially in primary school”. Priority will be given to intervention in the school field: “The renovation of the athletics track, completed in April last year, had been awaited for more than 37 years. Now – added Virgil – we need to continue the recovery of the sector by diverting energy and investments to the structure that houses the changing rooms and the grandstand”.
The sports hall requires extraordinary interventions: to offer a better service and better spaces to sports clubs and sponsors, according to Virgilio, it will be necessary to review the structure in collaboration with the sports organizations that use the facility and intercept the resources that allow its redevelopment.
Among the many new projects in the start-up and implementation phase, those made possible also thanks to the PNRR funds for the sports facilities on the Po and the Project Financing with Forus to redevelop the swimming pool and its facility stand out.
But, municipal facilities and structures aside, to encourage a greater diffusion of sport, also as an educational tool for young people, all neighborhoods must have free-use sports areas available to citizens. Another strategic point will be to continue with the safety of sports facilities within school buildings: the actions will mainly concern asbestos abatement and anti-seismic interventions but also the monitoring of the structures.
Virgilio also proposes the introduction of a Strategic Sport Plan, an alliance between local associations that helps respond to the constantly evolving needs of the sporting world – for example regulatory changes, sport or third sector reform. Furthermore, Cremona increasingly wants to be a university city; from this perspective, sport can also help non-resident students to integrate into the social fabric of the city. “We want to continue inclusive paths for young university students – he added – promoting free and competitive activities, including high-level ones, with the involvement of local sports entities“. Sporting events must continue to be an expression of the attractiveness of our territory. “The target – concluded Virgil – is to make Cremona increasingly capable of attracting sporting events of national and international importance, which also act as a driving force for local initiatives and the city’s tourist and cultural offer“.
