Napoli stadium ambitions grow as club targets 70000-seat alternative

Napoli have identified a former refinery in San Giovanni a Teduccio as a potential site for a new 70,000-seat stadium, advancing plans for a privately controlled alternative to their current home.The Serie A club have signed a letter of intent with Q8 to assess the feasibility of developing the site, while the City of Naples continue to pursue a separate renovation of Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis said: “We’re working on a new stadium with 70,000 seats and 120 sky boxes.”The scale of the proposed venue would give Napoli substantially greater premium seating, hospitality and sponsorship inventory, addressing commercial limitations associated with the city-owned Maradona stadium.Napoli chief executive Andrea Chiavelli said the club had inspected the former Q8 refinery and found that remediation work was already at an advanced stage.Chiavelli said: “We determined that the site possesses all the necessary attributes for the design of a new facility.“We also finalised a letter of intent with Q8, confirming our mutual interest in assessing the project’s feasibility. We have already completed the design for a different site, and it can be adapted for this location.”Napoli had previously considered developing a 65,000-seat stadium in the Poggioreale area, with an initial investment estimated at between €250m and €300m.The move towards San Giovanni a Teduccio keeps the club’s new-build strategy alive as local authorities prioritise a €200m redevelopment of the Maradona stadium.The city’s proposal would reopen the venue’s third tier, remove the athletics track, extend the roof and increase capacity from more than 54,000 to around 70,000.That redevelopment is also linked to Naples’ attempt to secure a place among Italy’s five host cities for UEFA Euro 2032.Napoli have previously questioned whether the existing stadium can be transformed into a venue capable of meeting the club’s long-term sporting and commercial requirements.The proposed new ground would give Napoli greater control over operations and year-round revenues while creating a modern home designed around football rather than an adapted municipal stadium.The club will now work with Q8 to assess the site’s planning, environmental, transport and financial viability before deciding whether to proceed with a formal development proposal.