Baldissoni outlines Stadio della Roma timelines after green light

Roma managing director Mauro Baldissoni is hopeful construction on Stadio della Roma will begin in the spring of 2018, after the club was granted final approval for the project on Tuesday evening.

Speaking in the wake of the decision to give the Tor di Valle project the formal green light, Baldissoni outlined what the moment would mean for the club – and when fans might expect to watch their first game in the new ground.

"We've taken another step towards making history because we've received the news that the Conferenza dei Servizi has approved our stadium project,” Baldissoni said. "There are still a few administrative steps that need to be taken before the whole process is completed and we can begin construction but the project has now been approved.

“We're ready to start out on the final road that will lead us to breaking ground, probably in late spring – hopefully around April or early May so that we can aim to finish in time for the 2020-21 season and be ready in August 2020. Construction should take between 26-28 months.

"It's been a team effort. This project has taught us that when you work together as a team you get results. This such a big and important project – it's system-wide. And for that we must thank everyone who helped make this possible.

"This is not just important for football and Roma, but also for the city of Rome and the country as a whole, because it shows that we can implement large-scale projects using private foreign investment if we work together and overcome our political divisions.

“The first thing the president said to me when I told him that we’d secured approval was: ‘Are people happy?’ It shows that he cares about the people of Rome and the Roma fans more than he does himself."

Baldissoni also discussed the club’s Champions League qualification, which was achieved later the same evening.

“Yesterday was certainly an intense day!” he joked. “It’s a great achievement but no more than that – we need to become used to this sort of thing and work hard so that this can become a regular occurrence.

“It’s clear that we had to overcome two teams [Atletico Madrid and Chelsea] that many thought were ahead of us, so we can be proud of what we have achieved – and aware of our strength as we move on to the next phase as group winners.

"It is a small reward for the work we have put in in recent years, and something important to motivate us and inspire us to do even better in future.”