Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
of place (topophilia) or specific venue is augmented by the atmosphere within
the ground, the emotions associated with attending a match, and the memory of
shared past experiences. while almost all english professional clubs have their
own stadium that ties them closely to their location and thus creates importance
and meaning for fans, there already appears to be significant difference for Roma
and lazio supporters who not only share their “home” but also rent it from the
italian olympic Committee.
somewhat belatedly, italian sports venues and the sporting “experience” are
beginning to change. This comes primarily in response to outdated, poor facili-
ties and stadiums that have contributed to a malaise in attendance figures and
the significantly reduced revenue that football clubs are able to raise when leasing
rather than owning their own grounds. while the importance that bale attaches
to space and place is unquestionably valid, the moving of stadia to the periphery
must be expected to change the relationship between sports venues, fans, and the
city and, consequently, the meanings attached to them by supporters, spectators,
and citizens.
with the recent construction of huge out-of-town shopping centers, such as
Roma est and euroma2, there is a clear future direction: expansion (see chapter
9). equally, the italian obsession with cars, partly created by the necessity for
personal over public means of transport, makes the move to out-of-town ven-
ues quite logical. furthermore, the reduction of personal associations with the
shared, italian olympic Committee-owned stadio olimpico makes such moves
potentially less traumatic for Roman fans, especially those of lazio whose sup-
porter base has always been far stronger in the region's countryside. with the
plans made even more intriguing following Roma's purchase, in 2011, by an italo-
american consortium, the comparison of italian sports stadiums with those in
america, as described by Gary Crawford, is striking:
by the 1950s many North american baseball parks were over forty years old
and increasingly outdated and “ageing fast,” and the suburbanization in-
creased affluence and mobilization (largely due to the rising popularity of the
motor car), of america's middle class saw many baseball teams relocate to sub-
urban or out-of-town venues. The american middle class had left behind the
overcrowded city centres, and many were reluctant to travel back into these for
their leisure and entertainment. in growth which mirrored out-of-town shop-
ping malls, North american sports stadiums began to appear on develop-
ment sites on major road networks away from city centres and located within
convenient distance of other entertainment and leisure facilities (Crawford
2004, 72).
since the end of the second world war and the cultural and economic pen-
etration of italy by the united states, principally through european Reconstruc-
tion aid (marshall plan) money, there appears to have been an inexorable wave
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