Last week, Juventus unveiled its new stadium, called Juventus Stadium until naming rights are sold. The 41,000 seat stadium is smaller than the Old Lady's previous home, the Stadio delle Alpi, but that is a good development in that there is no longer a running track between the fans and the pitch. The more intimate venue will provide a better football atmosphere not only for those in the stands but also for those watching on television. In recent years Italy's bigger football clubs have been expressing the desire to escape their cavernous multi-use stadiums, such as the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, for soccer specific venues. As it is, security issues concerning the large, aging stadiums that many of the clubs play in result in tickets not being sold for entire sections during most matches, something that has been clearly noticed by football fans in other countries watching Serie A matches on television - they might hear the fans, but rarely do they see the fans.
While I am not a Juventus fan, I respect the club's history, and I hope that the new stadium will prove a successful venture for the club and prove to be the first domino of many falling when it comes to the building of new soccer stadiums in Italy. FYI, Juventus won its first game in its new stadium this past weekend, beating Parma 4-1.
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