Thread by @CCalcistica

Arena Civica (Stadio Brera) to host Serie C football?

Alcione Milano this week claimed that Serie C would welcome them with open arms if they play @ ex-Inter ground Arena Civica.

Alcione are the best-ranked Serie D playoff winners but are without a Serie C compliant stadium.

Alcione currently play at the Kennedy Sports Centre (basically a pitch and nothing else) but have played at the Arena Civica in the recent past.

The stadium is in the heart of Milan & is recognised as a key part of the city's football heritage.

8th tier club FC Brera have also been playing there as part of the hipster Fenix International Cup, although the Nasdaq-listed club have just announced they are exiting the Italian league to concentrate on their Macedonian & Mozambican operations. As you do...

But can the Arena Civica actually host professional (Serie C) football?

The rules are quite clear & there are a whole set of requisites that stadia must meet. From 1500 numbered seats (not stone slabs) to bus parking, segregation, changing rooms, floodlighting, doping rooms, etc

As things stand, the Arena Civica doesn't meet these requirements

What's more, Alcione's playoff win does not gain them a Serie C place unless teams go bust. If they're called in to replace them, they need a ready-to-go stadium that fits the bill. There's no special dispensation

What Alcione are claiming is that the Arena is such an important part of football heritage that the league will overlook the fact it doesn't meet requirements:

"Our admittance to Serie C is a sure thing. It would be a first for them not to admit anyone from Serie D...

...so we're totally relaxed about it. As for the Arena Civica, the Lega Pro (Serie C's governing body) are particularly fond of it, so they'll give us all necessary dispensation to take the field in what is considered a historic monument of football in Lombardy."

Romantic it may seem, but this sentiment flies in the face of league precedent.

The only possibilities for them are that:

(i) they refurbish the stadium in a matter of weeks (unlikely for several reasons - bureacratic & financial)

Or (ii) the league goes easy with this year's regulations (unlikely because newly promoted clubs have already been investing to meet stringent regulations).

Unfortunately, Alcione seem to be speaking out of sheer hope rather than on any factual basis.

Instead, any free slot in Serie C for a Serie D playofd winner would likely go to Puglian side Nardo, who won today's playoff vs Cavese. But they are also in a race against time stadium-wise, with Pineto, Fano & Casertana waiting in the wings.

For a more in-depth history of the Arena Civica, have a read of @CalcioEngland's superb article for @GentlemanUltra:
gentlemanultra.com/2018/11/19/are…