Serie A side Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis said that "he will not go to watch his side for as long as they are still playing at the Stadio San Paolo," according to Ben Gladwell of ESPN.com. Business interests "are the main motivation behind his decision to spend more time in the United States than in Naples, but he nevertheless says the matchday atmosphere at the San Paolo is anything but appealing, which is why he would prefer to build a 20,000-seater stadium of his own." He said, "It is not at all true that I have fallen out of love with the club -- the main reason is I want to move to America with my family to be best placed to carry forward my film producer work. ... The second reason I will not set foot in the San Paolo again is because you can't see a thing in that stadium. It's far better watching the games on TV. I will return to the stadium only once I've built one of my own. It won't be the San Paolo, but a jewellery box for 20,000 members that will always be full."
De Laurentiis "has been fighting with city administrators for years to be allowed to redevelop the San Paolo, threatening to take the club out of the city if they do not support him." No progress "appears to have been made" (ESPN.com, 9/19).
