Stadio delle Alpi was the unpopular home of both Turin based football clubs Juventus and Torino between 1990 and 2006 with both clubs opting to move to the Stadio Olimpico instead.
Juventus Stadium Guide
Stadium Facts
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Team: | Juventus |
| Opened: | 1990 |
| Capacity: | 69,000 |
| Address: | Turin |
Stadio Delle Alpi History
The “Stadium of the Alps” was built for the 1990 World Cup set to be hosted in Italy to replace the rapidly aging 1933 built Stadio Comunale which wasn’t fit for hosting the major sporting tournament. Funded by the council of Turin, the local government built a multi-purpose sporting arena which featured an athletics track around the perimter of the pitch, much to the detriment of the fans inside the stadium who would primarily turn up for football matches.
The Athletics track proved to be a colossal waste of money as Delle Alpi was never used for major athletic events after it transpired that the designers had overlooked the need for a warm up track, meaning it wasn’t fit for purpose – making the long distance to the pitch even more of a sin for football fans. The stadium planners also failed with the canvass roof design and the exterior of the stadium which provided very poor insulation to the cold winds emanating from the nearby Alps mountain range.
Stadio Delle Alpi attracted it’s highest attendances during the World Cup when it hosted three group matches as well as group matches between Argentina and Brazil, plus for many English supporters, a legendary game against Germany. The virtual sell outs of 60,000 were only eclipsed during the 2003 second leg Champions League final against Real Madrid when 66,299 Bianconeri fans attended although, the remarkable 237 fans who turned up to see a Coppa Italia match against Sampdoria a season before tells a much more interesting story.
Recognising the unmitigated failure of the not even 25 year old stadium, Juventus purchased Delle Alpi for around €25 million, and drew up plans to either renovate or completely rebuild a new stadium on the same site. Set back somewhat by the Calciopoli scandal which saw the club relegated to Serie B, the construction of the new Juventus Stadium finally opened in 2011 after a construction period of 2 years with little resemblance to the original monstrosity excluding the two roof support beams which were salvaged from the Delle Alpi demolition.
With the Stadio Delle Alpi closing in 2006, Juventus and Torino both relocated to the smaller Stadio Olimpico which was renovated for the Winter Olympics of the same year.
Stand Photos
Stadio Delle Alpi was comprised of four stands: North, East, South and West.
Click the thumbnails above to enlarge an image of each stand and to read a more detailed description of each part of the Stadium.
