Pnrr, how municipalities risk “burning” 158 million for sports facilities –

Joseph China

August 21, 2024

The Paris Olympics, where the record of 40 medals won was equaled as in Tokyo 2020, could be the swan song of Italian sport. The most concrete risk that threatens the golden age of the Italian athletes is not the generational change or the satisfaction of our champions after so many victories, but the tricolor bureaucratic slowness that is making the Pnrr funds destined for sports facilities regrettable. Several million euros – to be precise 157,939,330 – allocated for swimming pools, gyms, athletics tracks, hockey fields, areas for sport climbing and more on which the deadline of next August 31 looms. Last useful day to start the planned works, under penalty of losing the sum received. Circumstance written down in black and white by the number one of Italian sport, Minister Andrea Abodi, in a letter that the latter sent to the president of the National Association of Municipalities (ANCI), Roberto Pella. The document that has obtained is dated July 23. «Dear President, dear Roberto, (…) I inform you that, to date, from the monitoring of the 294 interventions admitted to financing (net of the waivers received) and from the analysis of the data uploaded to ReGiS (ministerial platform, ed.), this Department has found that a total number of 68 interventions present critical issues due to the failure to start work – of which 47 interventions, affect the 50% objective for the construction of new buildings for a total amount of 157,939,330».

In his letter, Minister Abodi also writes that for seven interventions “the tender has not yet been started”. Then the tone of the letter becomes more pressing: “In order to allow a realignment of the procedural and financial timetable, I ask you to ensure that the Anci, with all permitted urgency, sensitize the 68 Municipalities (…) to provide for the execution of the works to avoid the risk of a defunding of the intervention; to respect the deadline of 31 August 2024 for the start of the construction site”. Where should the 68 structures at risk be built? Not only in large cities, but also in provincial towns such as Besozzo, Forni Avoltri, Cagnano Varano just to name a few. In Milan, in via del Cardellino 3, the construction of one of the most significant projects is planned: a new swimming facility worth 25 million euros, of which 11 are financed by the Pnrr. The capital of Puglia, Bari, would like to build a historic unfinished project like the new Poggiofranco sports hall (to be used for basketball, volleyball and martial arts) in Viale Bartolo: the cost of the project is 5.5 million, all coming from the Pnrr. Much further north, in Bologna, in the Navile district, the expansion of the Bonori sports centre is planned, which should be equipped with new spaces also thanks to the demolition of the bowling alley and 5.5 million euros from the Pnrr (out of a total of 6).

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Cosenza has the ambition to become the national squash hotbed, given that the city will perhaps host the federal technical center: provided that the eight courts are built for four million euros of public money. Then there are also those who dream of becoming the most important Italian center of motorboating. We are talking about Cagnano Varano, where the Municipality has obtained an allocation of four million euros, entirely financed by the Pnrr, to create a sports center associated with the Italian Motorboating Federation. And again in Castelnovo ne’ Monti there is a new sports hall, after demolishing the current gym. Also in this case the expected expense is four million. The estimated expense for the public coffers rises again looking at the cases of Torre del Greco and Pistoia. In both cases it is about new buildings: in Tuscany to create the changing rooms in the Silvano Fedi complex 7.6 million of Pnrr are needed; in the Campania town, instead, 8.5 million (100% Pnrr) are needed to give life to the new sports citadel of Viale Europa. Given the situation, perhaps it would be a good idea to change the name of the street.