Napoli finds a stadium partner in MSC's Aponte family

Aurelio De Laurentiis is said to have settled on the Aponte family, owners of MSC Cruises, as the backer for Napoli's new stadium, while talks continue over the price of the decontaminated land at the Q8 site.

by Rosaria CimminoTuesday 13 October, 17:23 CET· 2 hours ago

Lo stadio Diego Armando Maradona di Napoli

Lo stadio Diego Armando Maradona — Foto: Gae C. at Italian Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0

Aurelio De Laurentiis appears to have found his partner for Napoli's new stadium: the Aponte family, owners of MSC Cruises. If the project goes ahead, the ground could be named MSC Arena.

The site under discussion remains the Q8 area, 100 hectares that have been on the table for some time. On Monday 12 October a two-and-a-half-hour meeting took place between the parties, attended by chief executive Andrea Chiavelli and former councillor Bruno Discepolo. The subject was the purchase price of the land, which Q8 has committed to decontaminate. Figures put the overall operation at around €600m, with the two sides reportedly close to agreeing a value for the land.

De Laurentiis is said to want the whole process wrapped up within two years, through to the laying of the first stone. The push fits into Naples' bid to host Euro 2032, the same framework under which a separate project — a new basketball arena on the site of the former Mario Argento venue — is already working through the planning process. Mayor Manfredi has said in recent days that he will wait for the stadium project to become concrete before committing himself.

The stadium question overlaps with another live issue: whether De Laurentiis sells the club or relaunches it himself, a decision reportedly expected in the summer of 2027. A new stadium built with an international partner the size of MSC affects both scenarios, since it changes the underlying value of Napoli, whether or not De Laurentiis stays in control.

Naples has talked about a new stadium for years without a single stone being laid. The Q8 site was already a known option; what's new is a heavyweight name emerging as a possible backer. Before anyone believes it is really happening, supporters will want to see land actually bought — not just a price still being negotiated.