The meeting to decide the fate of the Stadio della Roma project is underway, after the club resubmitted plans.
Proposals were rejected in their original form, but the Giallorossi submitted a scaled-back version of the project in the hope of winning approval.
A decision is expected today, with the club stating that the stadium will bring jobs as well as regeneration to the proposed site in Tor di Valle.
The meeting to decide the fate of the Stadio della Roma project is underway, after the club resubmitted plans.
Proposals were rejected in their original form, but the Giallorossi submitted a scaled-back version of the project in the hope of winning approval.
A decision is expected today, with the club stating that the stadium will bring jobs as well as regeneration to the proposed site in Tor di Valle.
It's estimated that 1,500 people will be employed in the construction phase, with 4,000 new jobs created by the finished project.
Those proposing the new arena state that it could reduce the unemployment rate in the capital by one per cent, with a proposal for 30 per cent of the site to be devoted to public green areas and 10,000 trees to be planted.
However, there is political resistance to the proposals and, after the intervention by Codacons, thirty town planners have signed a letter opposing the Stadio della Roma.
“What is happening in Rome in the case of the construction of the new stadium highlights the striking way in which urban planning has been relegated, dominated by the neoliberal ideology,” a letter from thirty Italian town planners states.
“The stadium, when viewed from the Roman tradition of ‘bread and circuses’ could be considered a matter of public interest.
“What has instead been legitimised by the Comune di Roma under the auspices of ‘public interest’ is a plan of one million cubic metres, mainly for offices to house multinational corporations and businesses, according to the plan presented by the owners/builders, the construction of which is dependent on some public works by the city.
“The interpretation of ‘public interest’ thus views the ‘public’ as being fixed to the ‘interests’ of financial landowners, of constructors, of credit banks; ready to put all their relationships and powers toward ensuring a ‘public’ legitimacy to their profits.”
For their part, the Lupi claim that just 12 per cent of the area would be devoted to the business park, while 80 per cent would be public areas.
There were protests as mayor Virginia Raggi arrived for the meeting, by workers from Corpa, the company which manages recovery and maintenance for Rome’s public transport company Atac.
The workers haven’t been paid on time for several months, and some haven’t received pay since November.
“It’s useless to roll out the red carpet for [Francesco] Totti, there are people here who haven’t been paid,” protesters shouted.
“Enough talk about the stadium, it’s time to think of us workers!”