A new multipurpose hall at the disposal of Italian sport. The facility was inaugurated today at the Giulio Onesti Olympic Preparation Centre at Acqua Acetosa by CONI President Giovanni Malagò, General Secretary Carlo Mornati, Minister for Sport and Youth Affairs Andrea Abodi, and CONI Vice Presidents Silvia Salis and Claudia Giordani. Among others, the Head of the Sports Department Flavio Siniscalchi, the President of Sport and Health SPA Marco Mezzaroma, the honorary IOC member Franco Carraro, numerous federal presidents and CONI executives, starting with the Head of the CPO, Alessio Palombi, took part in the event.

The architectural project developed by engineer Gustavo Gennari of the Gennari e Conti Ingegneria practice was carried out under the construction supervision of engineer Pietro Santoiemma by the Stabile Rennova consortium of L'Aquila (the contractor was La Torre Costruzioni Srl of Palombara Sabina).

The structure, equipped with an integrated photovoltaic system that contributes to energy management and designed for the recovery of rainwater, contains a full-height multi-purpose gymnasium and a lower body on the three east, south and west sides that houses the changing rooms and other support spaces for the facility.

Built in the area of the former riding track, the hall has an activity area with net layout dimensions of 44x26 metres (photo Giancarlo Gobbi GMT), with an average height of 12 metres, making it suitable for hosting different sports disciplines such as badminton and parabadminton, basketball, 3x3 basketball, wheelchair basketball, volleyball and sitting volleyball (with a removable floor), gymnastics (artistic, rhythmic, trampolining, acrobatics and aerobics), five-a-side football, handball, roller sports (figure skating and track hockey), boxing and disciplines such as judo, karate fighting and martial arts, and with a dedicated wall for sport climbing currently being set up outside.

“The pleasure of being here is immense, not only as a guest but also because my role makes me remember the past. Part of my life is here,” said Abodi. “Today, the happiest person at this inauguration would be Giulio Onesti himself: he would have been enthusiastic about this structure, in fact he would perhaps have designed it. A multifunctional, accessible arena, with all the characteristics that a modern structure must have, prepared for the kind of smart technology that is now necessary, and energy efficient.”

“An inauguration like this also signifies the establishment of sport in the constitution,” the Minister continued. “Many sporting disciplines will find a place in this hall, it will be a place of excellence for Olympic and Paralympic training, a place of sporting practice. Great credit goes to CONI, with the support of Sport and Health, a collaboration that I am pleased about because I see it becoming steadily more established.”

“We are very happy, very happy. I can’t say that this is all we live for, but it is one of those moments that reward us for our work,” Malagò said. “The birth of a facility allows you to go on a mental journey, to fantasise, to dream. It is impossible to do sport at all levels if there is no home. And symbolically it is very important that this home is in the Giulio Onesti Olympic Preparation Centre.”

“It is a troubled story, typically Italian. This structure was imagined and designed by CONI Servizi, then the interregnum of Sport and Health, in the meantime there was Covid and war, costs increased, budgets were revised. I really don't want to stir up any controversy, but this arena was the topic of a huge clash between me and the previous government: I thank Minister Abodi, who initially did not follow me on this issue, but enough is enough. A mere 700 million out of the 209 billion allocated to Italy by the NRRP has been designated for the sports sector, and the way the amount has been distributed has been criticized for a lack of fairness: many of the facilities under construction are in great difficulty because the funds are not sufficient. The last straw, then, is not to have given a single cent to CONI, which represents the Italian state, a non-profit organisation that is building a hall like this. A scientific, bad, wrong thing. An absurdity.”

CONI Secretary General Carlo Mornati went on to explain the project carried out. “We are proud. We had a plan for the development of the Centre, we wanted to redo it all in the medium term because a large percentage of the Olympic medals pass through here. We have invested 27 million over these years: five pitches have been rebuilt, all the containers have been removed, the changing rooms, the clubhouse, the rugby pitches, all the flooring, the hockey pitch, the taekwondo gym, the weights gym, the Institute of Medicine and Science – completely rebuilt.

“In this area, where the old riding hall used to be, we seized the opportunity and ran with it: it all proved very hard work, but we did it,” Mornati continued. “We delivered the facility quickly, and today we inaugurate it with great pride. It was not easy at all, after Covid came the war. We thank Sport and Health, even though this building was supposed to be finished in December 2021. When we took it over in 2022 we were behind. We had a total budget of 5 million euros from the Sport and Peripheries fund, we are closing the project at 10 million, double that, because the costs have increased. The work is not over yet, in mid-May we will begin work on the catering area and the CPO will have its own Casa Italia. But in the meantime, good luck to the teams: there will be great demand for this arena, we are really satisfied.”

“With everyone's help, working as a team, we have managed to keep going with the work to reach the goal within the set timeframe. We are really satisfied,” concluded Engineer Tommaso Viti, Head of the CONI Sports Facilities Commission. The inauguration ceremony ended with the blessing of Don Carlo, from the Parish of Santa Croce al Flaminio: the hall is ready to host Italian sport.