Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia

History

Early years

With the growth of football in the 1920s, Atalanta needed a new stadium with considerably larger capacity than its previous grounds. The new stadium was constructed on Viale Margherita (now Viale Giulio Cesare), replacing a hippodrome that once occupied the site. it also featured a running track, as it was planned to form part of a larger complex. On 1 November 1928, Atalanta played its first unofficial match at the stadium (a 4–2 victory against Triestina); the stadium was then officially inaugurated on 23 December 1928, when Atalanta defeated La Dominante Genova 2–0 in front of over 14,000 spectators.

After World War II, the stadium was renamed the Stadio Comunale ("Municipal Stadium"), as fascism no longer existed in Italy. and a second stand at the north end (the Curva Nord) followed during the 1960s, opening in 1971.

Modernization projects

The Tribuna Giulio Cesare underwent modernization during the early 1990s, and the stadium was renamed the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia ("Blue Athletes of Italy") in 1994. Similarly, the Curva Sud was nicknamed the Curva Morosini in 2012 to posthumously honor 25-year-old youth academy player Piermario Morosini, who died following collapse on the field during a Serie B match between Pescara and Livorno. In 2015, the stadium also expanded its side stands to offer pitchside views only several meters (feet) from the benches, a revolutionary feature of Italian stadiums at the time. New seating areas for disabled spectators were also added. At the same time, the press box has been lowered and moved towards the pitch. These improvements came with a reduction in overall capacity by around 3,000 seats. The club paid €2.6 million for the first phase of redevelopment.

On 10 May 2017, Atalanta announced the acquisition of the stadium from the comune for 8.6 million euros,{{efn|The other three are Juventus, Sassuolo, and Udinese. All the remaining Serie A clubs play in municipally-owned stadiums. This renovation project was also necessary to upgrade the stadium to meet UEFA standards for hosting matches in UEFA competitions. Because the stadium was not ready at the time, Atalanta had to play its Europa League home matches at the Mapei Stadium in Reggio Emilia and its Champions League home matches in its debut season at San Siro in Milan. Despite not playing in Bergamo, though thanks to the additional capacity of San Siro, Atalanta recorded its record home attendance of 44,236 during a Champions League knockout stage match against Valencia on 19 February 2020.

Following a sponsorship agreement with electronics company Gewiss, the stadium was renamed the Gewiss Stadium on 1 July 2019. On 30 April 2019, a new phase of renovations began with the demolition of the Curva Nord "Federico Pisani" (North Stand). On 6 October 2019, the renovated Curva Nord was inaugurated for Atalanta's home match against Lecce; it has covered seating for over 9,000 spectators. A year later, both side stands underwent modernization and the Curva Sud had temporary seats installed on the concrete. These upgrades allowed Atalanta to play its Champions League matches in Bergamo starting in the 2020–21 season. The final phase called for a new Curva Sud (mirroring the rebuilt Curva Nord), increasing the stadium's capacity to about 25,000, as well as construction of a new underground parking garage and other improvements to the stadium's surroundings. It was originally expected to be completed in 2021, though was delayed several times. Construction began in spring 2024, temporarily reducing the stadium's capacity but otherwise not obliging the club's home matches to be played at another stadium,

In 2025, following the expiration of the club's sponsorship agreement with Gewiss, the stadium was no longer known officially as the Gewiss Stadium and a new sponsorship deal was signed with sportswear company New Balance.

International matches

Various international matches have also been played in Bergamo, though the stadium was not selected as a venue in any of the international tournaments hosted by Italy. The Italy national team's most recent match in Bergamo was a 1–1 draw with the Netherlands in the UEFA Nations League on 14 October 2020.

List of international matches

• Bagni
• Bergomi
• Altobelli
• Vialli
• Di Natale
• Materazzi
• Stepanenko
• Yarmolenko
• Konoplyanka
• Sadiku
• Pellegrini
• Van de Beek
• Kean
• Retegui
• Raspadori
• Bastoni

Awards

The Stadio di Bergamo received the Most Valuable Field award during the Serie A Awards in 2023.

Notes

References

Bibliography

References

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17. Hall, Richard. (7 January 2014). "Atalanta: Serie A alternative club guide". [[The Guardian]].
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20. (19 February 2020). "Atalanta vs. Valencia – Football Match Summary". [[ESPN]].
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22. (1 July 2019). "Lo Stadio di Bergamo diventa Gewiss Stadium".
23. (28 April 2019). "Atalanta, il nuovo stadio nel 2021: al via la demolizione della Nord". Fox Sports.
24. (6 October 2019). "Atalanta, dolce ritorno! Tris col Lecce nel rinnovato Gewiss Stadium". La Gazzetta dello Sport.
25. (2 October 2019). "Atalanta, ecco la nuova Curva Nord: un gioiello 'british' da oltre 9.000 posti a sedere". [[Il Giorno (newspaper).
26. (3 August 2020). "Lavori in Tribuna Ubi e Curva Sud: L'Atalanta vuol giocare la Champions a Bergamo". Bergamo News.
27. (25 September 2020). "Il Gewiss Stadium è pronto per l'Atalanta: restyling completato". [[Tuttosport]].
28. (7 October 2020). "Official: Atalanta Champions League games in Bergamo". Football Italia.
29. (7 October 2020). "Atalanta get green light for Champions League home games". [[Diario AS]].
30. (2 May 2021). "Bergamo: Atalanta announces third phase of stadium revamp".
31. Nikpalj, Dino. (4 June 2022). "Stadio, l'Atalanta frena: la nuova curva Sud pronta ad agosto 2024". L'Eco di Bergamo.
32. (8 September 2024). "Italy: Return of Curva Sud against Fiorentina at Gewiss Stadium".
33. Amato, Davide. (12 August 2025). "Stadio di Bergamo, via Gewiss. Si avvicina New Balance". l'Eco di Bergamo.
34. (14 October 2020). "Italia–Olanda, applausi ai medici e sindaci al Gewiss Stadium di Bergamo". La Gazzetta dello Sport.
35. (21 September 2020). "Italia, la sfida contro l'Olanda al Gewiss: Azzurri a Bergamo 14 anni dopo". Sky Sport.
36. {{UEFA match attendance. 2030054. Italy vs. Netherlands. (14 October 2020)
37. (16 June 2023). "𝗠𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝗩𝗔𝗟𝗨𝗔𝗕𝗟𝗘 𝗙𝗜𝗘𝗟𝗗 🥇 Il #Gewiss Stadium è il miglior terreno di gioco della @SerieA2022/23 🏟 👉 https://atalanta.it/news/il-gewiss-stadium-e-il-miglior-campo-2022-2023-della-serie-a/ The Gewiss Stadium playing surface has been named the best in @SerieA_EN in 2022/23 👏".