Baldissoni: It's time for construction to start on the new stadium

On Tuesday morning the Mayor of Rome, Virginia Raggi, confirmed that the independent Politecnico di Torino, who had been asked to investigate the various transport issues involved with the proposed new stadium, had issued a positive assessment of the club's plans.

"It is about time the city has the opportunity to see the results of all these discussions and all this investment," Baldissoni said, "and that Roma can finally begin construction of the stadium.”

The vice-president spoke to asroma.com to explain what Tuesday's news means - and where the Stadio della Roma project now stands in the final approval process.

What happened today at Campidoglio?

“Today the independent technical report that the Mayor requested from the Politecnico di Torino was publicly released. It is not something that has any legal bearing, because it is outside of the administrative procedure, but it serves an important purpose: to address any of the doubts that surrounded the viability of the traffic studies included in the submitted project.

"So, first and foremost, it was important politically, a helpful reference point for the administration as they confirm the final approval of the project."

What were the key points from the report?

“The Politecnico di Torino confirmed that the studies included in our project presentation, in terms of managing the traffic and transport around the site of the new stadium, were all completed accurately and professionally. Some alternative solutions have been proposed for the traffic around the site, because of the everyday mobility issues that affect the city, which will see more of a focus on rail transport.

"Around Tor di Valle there are two major train lines and, through the reinforcement and enhancement of those – which will be financied partially through public funds and partly through the project owners - it will be possible to ensure that fans can reach the stadium comfortably.”

What does it all mean for AS Roma?

“It underlines the fact that the stadium has been planned with the most up-to-date and modern infrastructure choices available to us. We have invested a lot of time, effort and money in it – perhaps to an extent that has never been seen before, for a construction project of this type.

"From the very beginning, the club’s target has been to build a modern stadium that can be put to use by club and bring benefits to the entire city; the most advanced stadium possible, anticipating the future to ensure it is not obsolete almost before it has even been opened. Today is another confirmation that there are no fears in that regard from a mobility perspective either.”

What are the next steps now?

“All that remains now is to go through the few outstanding technical and administrative steps to complete the final approval. First of those will be the approval of the ‘urban variation’. We are continuing to work closely with the administration on that. Everything has been discussed, there are no contentious points still to be resolved. All that remains is to address a couple of technical issues, which will then allow a date to be set for the final vote on the variation.

"Then, once that is done, the project can be passed on to Lazio Regione, who will issue the final building permits. We expect that will conclude everything as far as the approval process goes, and hopefully as soon as possible.

"It is about time the city got the opportunity to see the results of all these discussions and all this investment, and that Roma can finally begin construction of the stadium.”