“Sixty percent of sports facilities are obsolete and not in line with regulations”

There are about 20,000 sports facilities in Lombardy, but apparently, more than 60% require work of maintenance, and to bring them in line with regulations. This is according to the Regional Councillor for Sport and Policies for Young People, Antonio Rossi, who admits that, “Sports facilities in Italy are a serious problem,” but the resources necessary to put them right “are difficult to find”, given that, for Lombardy alone, it would take more than €1 billion. “But our young people need to do sport,” Rossi explained, “and for this reason, we’re trying to network and create a system, together with a number of organisations, such as the Sports Credit Institute, the Italian National Olympic Committee, local councils, and sports associations and clubs, also in order to

plan interventions in the Region, exploiting all of the resources and opportunities available.”

The councillor, who spoke at a conference in Pavia, also touched on the constraints set by the Stability Pact and the fact that, “Lombardy Region has made two announcements, one concerning the development of school gyms and their opening to sports clubs outside the school, the other concerning indoor sports facilities.” However, the money made available is a drop in the ocean with respect to the total amount required. For the first measure, nearly €5 million has been provided, for a total of nearly 500 requests, and for the second, about €3 million, for a total of nearly 350 requests.

“The next measure will be dedicated to outdoor sports facilities, such as football pitches, not only synthetic, and athletics fields, a third, different type of intervention in order to try to cover nearly all the requirements of the sports world,” Rossi continued. “We’re working on a network for the future, involving the region, the other government organisations and, where possible, private individuals, to encourage the greatest number of investments in the sport sector. And we’re going to continue along this path.”