Serie A side Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis called the Stadio San Paolo "a
toilet" and asked the council to approve reconstruction plans, according to FOOTBALL ITALIA. This week the council of Naples "rejected an initial plan
to take the stadium land on a 99-year lease," the same deal that
Juventus and Udinese have with their arenas, because it was "not in the
public interest." De Laurentiis spoke at an event in the city and "was damning about the state of the San Paolo." He said, "I came to Naples and bought this club for €33 million from the bankruptcy
tribunal. In two years, starting from Serie C2, I spent another €100 million.
From nothing we became the 15th most important club in Europe. I am ashamed when Bayern Munich visit the San Paolo. I am treated as a guest at the San Paolo, yet I paid for the turnstiles. This club was born in 2004 and no longer existed. I tried to invest
€8 million to create an academy in Pompei and Ercolano with 10 pitches, a
school, a hotel and gyms. I asked the mayor to simply give me the land. I
never heard from him again" (FOOTBALL ITALIA, 11/1).
