Avellino has taken a first administrative step toward bringing its municipal swimming centre back to life. The city administration has approved the initial planning document for a redevelopment covering the swimming centre on Via De Gasperi and the nearby Giacomo Del Mauro sports hall, with an estimated value of 10 million euros.

For residents, this is a signal of intent rather than the start of construction. The project is still at a preliminary stage, and the municipality says further technical and economic planning will depend on financing being secured.

A facility closed since 2020

The municipal pool has been closed since 2020. According to the local reporting behind this project, the swimming centre is now disused and will require substantial building, systems and functional work before swimming or other activities can restart.

That long closure is why the story matters locally. Earlier political proposals had already discussed reopening the pool through a transparent concession to a private operator and integrating it more closely with the sports hall and the Partenio-Lombardi stadium.

No operator, procurement model or reopening date has yet been documented for the current proposal.

What the municipality has approved

The approved document is the initial planning stage, not a final construction project. It concerns:

  • the redevelopment of the municipal swimming centre on Via De Gasperi;
  • works involving the nearby Giacomo Del Mauro sports hall;
  • a broader proposal for a "cittadella dello sport" linking those facilities with the Partenio-Lombardi stadium.

The proposed sports citadel would connect the three sites, including safe pedestrian routes between them. Details of those connections, including their exact scope, cost allocation and timetable, remain unclear.

The project is slated for inclusion in the 2026-2028 public works plan, with provision in the 2026 annual programme. That places it on the city's formal investment agenda, but does not by itself authorize construction.

Funding is the decisive question

A central fact is financial: the municipality does not currently have the resources needed for a 10-million-euro intervention and intends to seek full regional funding.

No formal approval or allocation of that regional funding is established in the available sources. The next technical phase — the technical-economic feasibility project, known in Italy as the PFTE — is conditional on financing being defined.

In practical terms, residents should read the current step as follows: the city has defined what it wants to do and how much it may cost, but not yet how it will pay for it or when work will begin.

The wider sports-citadel idea

The most distinctive element is the proposed "cittadella dello sport": rather than treating the pool as an isolated building, the plan presents it as a possible hub alongside the sports hall and stadium.

Earlier proposals had already framed the pool in these terms, emphasizing a social and accessibility role alongside competitive and recreational sport. The current planning document continues that approach by linking the swimming centre, sports hall and stadium into one connected sports area.

The exact administrative reference and date of the municipal resolution were not identified in the acquired material, so this should still be treated as an early planning decision awaiting subsequent acts.

What remains unclear

Several important points are not yet answered:

  • Whether regional funding will be granted, and on what timetable.
  • When detailed design, procurement and construction could begin.
  • When, if at all, the pool could reopen to the public.
  • Who would manage the facility once redeveloped.
  • What the pedestrian links and wider sports-citadel works will concretely include.

No confirmed construction start date, completion date or reopening date has been provided.

What to watch next

For people following the issue, two developments will matter more than this first approval.

First, any formal regional funding decision. Without it, the project cannot move to detailed technical-economic planning.

Second, publication of the next planning and procurement documents. Those will show whether the city pursues direct public management, an open concession to a private operator as previously proposed, or another model — and what conditions will be attached for public access, swimming courses, clubs and accessibility.

After six years of closure, the approval of an initial 10-million-euro plan is a concrete move. But the pool on Via De Gasperi remains closed, unfunded and without a construction calendar — and the real test will be whether financing follows.