Magical Nights. The past and present of stadiums in Europe

“Magical nights / chasing a goal / under the sky of an Italian summer,” sang Gianna Nannini in 1989. Football has always been an integral part of the culture of every country, and the spaces that host it – the stadiums – are the most visible reflection of this. Symbols of togetherness and belonging, veritable emotional megastructures, stadiums have long been considered much more than just sports infrastructures. Charged with an almost sacred aura, they are often compared in common speech to modern cathedrals, places where the community gathers to celebrate secular rituals.

So it is hardly surprising that the stadium has always been at the centre of architects’ interest – the subject of university courses (like the one at the Politecnico di Milano) and dedicated exhibitions, such as the one that the MAXXI in Rome is currently hosting (“Stadiums. Architecture and Myth”, 30 May 2025-9 November 2025).

Today, the stadiums of the twentieth century are back at the centre of the debate for two main reasons. On the one hand, the continuous urban expansion in Europe has ended up incorporating facilities built in peripheral areas, as is also happening with cemeteries and factories. This has forced cities to rethink the management of spectator and traffic flows at times of maximum use. On the other hand, many of these structures, although they were designed by great architects, are suffering from a structural rigidity that limits their adaptability to new functions. The difficulty of hosting events other than football – concerts, spectacles and other sports – is revealing their limits, further compounded bythe use of materials that are now obsolete, such as reinforced concrete, a symbol of a heroic season but far removed from today’s technological and environmental standards.

A case in point is the Louis II Stadium in Monaco, designed by Henri Pottier in 1985. Built not far from the sea and the city centre, it is one of the most significant works of European sports architecture, but also an example of the difficulty of updating structures built in a different era. Monumental and iconic, the stadium is now undergoing renovation to improve accessibility and safety. Another significant case is the Municipal Stadium of Braga, designed by Eduardo Souto de Moura in 2003. Hewn out of the rock of a former quarry, its positioning and integration into the landscape made it a masterpiece of contemporary architecture. But even here, twenty years later, new questions are being raised: how to rethink these monumental structures with respect to the changed social, environmental and technological needs?

Many of the stadiums built during the twentieth century are now in a critical position. Although recognized as cultural assets (only in part), their survival is threatened by poor functionality: a lack of flexibility, technological inadequacy, and poor levels of security and inclusion. Almost all of them were tailor-made for a male public, ignoring diversities of gender and age. It is precisely on this point that large international studios, such as Zaha Hadid Architects and Populous, are focusing, committed to designing stadiums that are more accessible and safe for all.

Apart from the social issues, environmental sustainability is also at stake. Contemporary architects are replacing reinforced concrete with low-impact materials, such as cross-laminated timber (CLT), recycled steels, and biocompatible plastics, to reduce the embodied carbon in structures. Construction processes are also evolving: the use of prefabrication and elevated assembly makes it possible to reduce time, costs, and waste, making buildings more efficient and reversible.