Sant’Alessandro Ready for New Sports Center After Decades of Delays

The project, devised some twenty years ago, Mayor Matteotti, was initially intended to fund Casa Mia, which had not yet migrated under the wide and thriving wings of the province. The institution owned a piece of land in S. Alessandro: half of it was allocated for construction and would be put on the real estate market, while the other half would host the sports center of the neighborhood, which was already rapidly expanding.

The plan was launched not without difficulties and opposition, and as is common in such cases: the construction of a dozen villas (one of which houses an apartment owned by Casa Mia) was completed with all the speed that a private entity can muster when it aims to earn a few dollars. The part designated for public use dragged on for four decades through projects, zoning plans, and endless discussions.

Projects and controversies over the sports area

In the first version of the latest zoning plan, drafted about ten years ago by architect Favole, that area was even designated for construction, and the sports zone was shifted by a few dozen meters to a plot behind the kindergarten. The uproar from residents, led by the Pro Sant’Alessandro Committee, resulted in architect Flaim restoring the original designation for the area as a sports zone.

Recently, during a meeting requested by the mayor, Malossini and a couple of councilors presented part of the residents (everyone was invited) with the project for the upcoming sports center, accompanied by two guarantees also signed by Pietro Matteotti: the contract was set to start at the end of 2000, considering that the funds were ready and available, and for Sant’Alessandro in 2001, which falls on August 26, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was scheduled.

Details on the budget and facilities

The budget allocates 1.3 billion Lire for a seven-a-side synthetic material football field; nearby, a multi-purpose court for basketball, volleyball, and tennis; a parking area for 30 cars; a children’s playground, since the current one, in operation for thirty years, is nearing retirement; and finally, 1,500 square meters reserved for Pro Sant’Alessandro’s festivals.

Only when Mario Calzà and his committee receive approval for the new parking lot will they allow the current field beside the elementary school, intended to give some greenery and parking space for the adjacent school, to be disused.