Taranto Calcio and the City Council clash over the new stadium Just days after the Erasmo Iacovone’s debut, tensions have resurfaced

Less than two weeks after Taranto’s first match at the new Erasmo Iacovone Stadium, the use of the venue has already become a source of conflict between the club and the City Council. At the centre of the dispute is the refusal to authorise the use of the hospitality area for an event dedicated to season-ticket holders, scheduled for yesterday afternoon.

The City Council’s explanation

The event was supposed to see one hundred official shirts handed out to Rossoblù supporters, but just hours before it was due to begin, Taranto announced that the event would be moved to the Cascarano store, following the “formal refusal received from the City Council” earlier that day. In a statement published on the club’s channels, Taranto apologised to supporters and journalists, explaining that the change of venue was due to circumstances beyond the club’s control.

The city administration responded by attributing the decision to issues of timing, safety and jurisdiction. According to the City Council, Taranto Calcio’s request had been submitted only the previous day, leaving insufficient time to carry out the checks required to accommodate more than one hundred people in an area not included among those granted to the club for home matches. Parts of the stadium are in fact construction sites still managed by the Extraordinary Commissioner overseeing the work planned for the 2026 Mediterranean Games. According to the City Council, reaching the hospitality area would have required crossing restricted areas.

The club’s response

The response from president Sebastiano Ladisa, speaking to Canale 7, was particularly forceful. He accused mayor Piero Bitetti of being “poorly advised” and the City Council of “putting obstacles in our way” and sending “letters that we perceive as intimidating”, while also criticising the absence of council representatives from the inaugural match against Novoli. “We are paying for all the work and stadium maintenance entirely out of our own pockets”, he added, “and we feel that a genuine campaign of harassment is being carried out against us”. He concluded by announcing that he and his brother Vito would no longer attend matches at the Iacovone, “because we do not feel at home: we will only follow the team away from home”.

It is the latest episode in an already strained relationship that also characterised previous club ownerships and city administrations. In 2024, with Massimo Giove in charge of the club and Rinaldo Melucci serving as mayor, work on the Iacovone and the availability of a pitch on which to play had already fuelled the conflict. Today, amid these new tensions, the standoff over the stadium’s future management remains unresolved.

All this comes with the city fresh from last month’s Mediterranean Games and football’s return to one of Italy’s most beautiful stadiums, as the ownership’s investments and ambitions on the pitch fuelled supporters’ enthusiasm. In just a few days, however, the mood has changed: first the 3-0 defeat at Canosa, then the hospitality dispute and Ladisa’s forceful stance. Not the week Taranto - the club, the administration and the city - had hoped for after the celebrations on September 27.