Rocco Commisso appeared at a press conference at the Stadio Artemio Franchi on Wednesday afternoon to discuss plans for the club’s new stadium.
Below are some of the key points from the conference.
On the current situation regarding the new stadium project…
“Initially, we wanted to do things ‘fast, fast, fast’ in the Campo di Marte area.”
“I have a good relationship with the Mayor, and nothing has changed – we still have a good relationship. We spoke about Mercafir, but it’s not ideal for us economically.”
“The Mayor has been exceptional with us. But I need options, within the Municipality of Florence, but also outside of it.”
“I hope the Municipality can re-evaluate the situation – there are many ways to find a solution. The current cost of the Mercafir area is probably too high, but we can mitigate that with solutions around other costs.”
“Up until now we’ve been working with the Mayor of Florence. From now on we’ll be evaluating other options.”
“I’m disappointed. I’ve been reading about a new stadium in Florence for a decade and I thought they’d be further ahead. Now I’m coming to realise that it takes time to make things happen here.”
“Our preference is to build a new comfortable, modern stadium so our fans can be treated like those of the top 20 teams in Europe. The money is there – we need to invest it and the bureaucracy needs to help us.”
“The Fiorentina fans are important here in Florence, so I thought the Municipality would be ready to build a new stadium.”
On why things aren’t progressing…
“The problem Italy has is bureaucracy – it’s impossible to make things happen ‘fast, fast, fast’.
“It’s different in America, but if Italy wants to look to the future, politics has to help. Italian football is a treasure, like food or fashion – we cannot be the fifth league in Europe.
On the club’s current revenue…
“The top 20 teams in Europe in terms of revenue are way ahead of Fiorentina. How can we spend what we need to spend when there’s such a difference in revenue? I am here to make Fiorentina successful.”
“We need revenue to be higher in order for the team to improve. We need to increase revenue on match day and for that we need the appropriate infrastructure.”
“To be competitive we must increase revenue. ‘Fast, fast, fast’.”
On the team…
“I want to thank [Vincenzo] Montella. Now [Giuseppe] Iachini needs some time. The team showed more determination. We were a bit unlucky against Bologna, but we were lucky against Inter. That’s football.”
“I’ve said we want to invest in the future – I don’t just want players for six months. We have to think about the future, about next season, when I want a team that will do better.”
“We’re working to improve the team. Hopefully, as soon as possible we can make an announcement.”
Published: Wed, 08 Jan 2020 20:24:00 +0100
Source: Fiorentina Official website en.violachannel.tv