Statement from President Ben Rosenzweig in Piazza Verdi
Following yesterday's meeting at Stadio Rocco, President Ben Rosenzweig met with the press again in the early afternoon today, this time in Piazza Verdi, the venue for the presentation of the first team in front of the fans:
Ben Rosenzweig:
"Thank you again for being here. We received communication from Serie C that technically the turf could be playable. However, given the vulnerabilities highlighted, the possibility of relocating matches to Fontanafredda, with a view to preserving the pitch as much as possible for the October 20 match (Triestina-Vicenza), the potential relocation of Triestina-Lumezzane to Fontanafredda seems a valid precautionary choice, without significant drawbacks, but it is entirely left to our club. Our belief is that the field is not yet ready, we have seen it, and you all have too. Therefore, to safeguard the safety of our players and, of course, the opposing team, we think it is appropriate to postpone the return to the Rocco for the match against Vicenza on October 20.
My goal is to avoid weekly discussions about the conditions of the playing field; the pitch must be unequivocally ready for both our club and the visiting clubs. Our view is that there has not been sufficient transparency and sense of responsibility in managing the Rocco turf issue in the last month. We now demand the establishment of a technical committee with mandatory meetings every thirty days, with all its proceedings fully open to the public, with everyone involved in the stadium situation: the Municipality and their agronomist, any organizers of future events, US Triestina Calcio with their agronomist, and the Region as a supervisor, in order to finally address the issue of ensuring a playable field worthy of the beautiful stadium we have here in Trieste.
I want to reiterate and extend my sincerest apologies to all our fans, our players, and everyone involved with Triestina, for not being able to allow them to enter our beloved stadium and enjoy the experience we are trying to build. I don't care whose fault it is; our fans are the first to suffer the consequences of all this.
You all have seen the field; you were here yesterday, I saw it, everyone saw it. We will be on the field every day, monitoring and inspecting its conditions, and when it is safe and in optimal condition to return to the Rocco, we will do so, and we will be the first to be happy about it.
A meeting with the Governor of Friuli Venezia Giulia, Fedriga, is scheduled in the next twenty-four hours, with who we are constantly in touch. He is a 'problem solver,' so we will work together to resolve an issue that is frustrating for both of us, without giving up and continuing to look ahead to find a solution.
Will the field hold up for the entire season? I can't know that. Our priority is that it is playable for the match with Vicenza, then we will see how the situation evolves. What is rather clear, however, is that with immediate actions after this summer's concert and with an investment in high-quality turf, all these issues and concerns for the future would never have existed.
The last thing I want to say is that it is in my interest and in the interest of the investors I represent to be able to return to play as soon as possible in our stadium. Every match not played at the Rocco entails a significant loss of money. Money that we lose, not the Municipality. Therefore, on our part, the club's part, those who invest their resources, every step for the good of all can only be decided in the most informed manner possible. Considering losses in terms of ticket revenue and the organizational effort required to play home games in an alternative venue, effectively each match costs us one hundred thousand euros. At the moment, there are three games; we will see after the match with Vicenza, also considering how much attendance there will be, a more accurate estimate of how much has actually been lost in these games played away from Trieste”.
