Turin’s Stadio Delle Alpi football and athletics stadium, demolished in 2009, suffered from high running costs and criticism for bad sightlines, seating distance from the pitch, poor acoustics and an atmosphere described as ‘soulless’.
Built for the FIFA Italia 1990 World Cup with a theoretical capacity of just over 69,000 spectators, it incorporated an athletics track that encircled the football pitch. The stadium was home to Juventus FC and Torino FC between 1990 and 2006, but games rarely drew anything close to capacity crowds and the venue never hosted a major athletics event.
Juventus purchased Stadio Delle Alpi in 2002 with redevelopment plans for a more intimate football stadium, without an athletics track. In 2006, both Juventus and Torino FC, moved back to their old home ground at Turin’s Stadio Olimipico, and Stadio Della Alpi was demolished by early 2009. The newly-built home for Juventus on the old site, the 41,000-capacity Juventus Stadium, opened in 2011. The Stadio Olimpico continues to be Torino FC’s home stadium.