Experiencing a matchday at the New Balance Arena We visited the Bergamo stadium for Atalanta-Venezia
Yesterday we were guests at the New Balance Arena in Bergamo, where Atalanta-Venezia gave us the opportunity to experience the Nerazzurri’s home up close. An afternoon and evening spent between the pitch and the stands, moving from areas normally reserved for those working behind the scenes to the sixth Serie A matchday, surrounded by the warmth of the home crowd.
The experience began a couple of hours before kick-off. As we approached the stadium, we passed the marble monument dedicated to the unforgettable triumph in Dublin - the 2023/24 Europa League - and “those who always dreamed of it but could not be there to experience it”. Then, on the wall opposite the team bus entrance, we came across the words “La maglia sudata sempre” - “Always sweat for the shirt”: a supporters’ mantra that has become an integral part of the club’s identity. For the past few years, it has also appeared inside the collars of Atalanta’s shirts and throughout the club’s official communications. During our visit, we found it again on the walls and in several areas inside the New Balance Arena, reminding everyone who passes through what Bergamo expects from those who represent it.
Discovering the New Balance Arena
Once inside, the pre-match operation was already in full swing. Atalanta’s staff told us that between 250 and 300 people normally work at the stadium on a matchday, and even more for certain fixtures. We visited the changing rooms, where everything was ready for the arrival of the two teams; walked through the mixed zone and press room, both being prepared for the evening; and then reached the technical area, the dugouts and the VAR monitor station at pitchside: an excellent place from which to take in the stadium and some of its details before the supporters filled it with people and colour.
From there, your eyes are immediately drawn towards the stands: the steep ends positioned close to the goals, the new structures and the roof of the Tribuna Centrale, which dates back to 1928, with murals depicting the sports once hosted within the complex. The dialogue between old and new - already visible from the outside in the integration of the historic façades with the contemporary architecture - is one of the most distinctive and successful elements of the stadium’s aesthetic.
The pitch is made of natural grass reinforced with stitched synthetic fibres, which stabilise the turf and make the surface more resistant. Beneath it runs a network of pipes carrying hot water to heat the ground. At the end of the match, as we left the stadium, we also saw the mobile lighting rigs being brought onto the pitch, along with the staff responsible for maintaining the grass.
After our visit to pitchside, it was time to wait for the teams, arriving aboard their respective buses. Atalanta’s arrival comes with its own small rituals, and amid the final preparations we heard a member of staff warn: “Put that one like this, otherwise you’ll have Sarri to answer to…”. Even the positioning of the barriers before the team’s arrival seems to follow certain superstitions.
Atalanta-Venezia
After watching part of the warm-up from close range, we headed to the skybox in the Rinascimento Sud area. Waiting for us - alongside casoncelli, meatballs and the rest of the catering - was a box containing the fanzine we had created for the match. Leafing through it there, with the pitch in front of us and the teams ready to play, was a special way to see our work become part of the matchday.
At 6.30 pm, the 22 players emerged onto the pitch, surrounded by the noise of the Bergamo crowd and its usual way of getting behind La Dea. The away end was also packed with Venezia supporters, who continued singing throughout the entire 90 minutes. Atalanta, however, flew out of the blocks and immediately shaped the evening: two goals in the opening ten minutes and a 3-0 lead after half an hour. Venezia responded, reducing the deficit and creating second-half chances that the final score only partly reflects, but it was not enough to prevent defeat or the dismissal of head coach Giovanni Stroppa in the hours that followed.
Once the 90 minutes (and added time) were over, with the final 3-1 score on the board and supporters making their way home, we came across our fanzine again outside the stadium, where it was being distributed after the match. From the skybox to the stands and then beyond the gates, its pages also became part of our evening in Bergamo, accompanying those who experience the New Balance Arena every week.
