Serie A side AS Roma "struck a deal with city officials over building a new stadium in the Italian capital, opening the way for a project meant to boost" the club's revenue, according to Agnieszka Flak of REUTERS. The 52,500-seat Stadio Della Roma, to be built in the city's southwest, was originally set to open in the current season but "faced years of delays as the club waited for approval." The agreement, reached late on Friday, "marks a welcome victory for Rome's beleaguered mayor," Virginia Raggi. After inheriting the project from her predecessor, Raggi has been "pushing for its design to be changed, including for big parts of a business park planned next to the stadium to be reduced, and for it to be more environmentally sustainable." Raggi said, "We have avoided the monster project inherited from the previous administration ... a new stadium will be built, but one that is modern, environmentally friendly, technologically advanced and, above all, one that respects much more the environment and the territory." Such "purpose-built, modern facilities could help Italy in any future bid to host" a World Cup or European Championship (REUTERS, 2/25).