Gallarate: Azalee Calcio leave the field on Via Pradisera

Context

TL;DR

• Le Azalee Calcio leave the field on Via Pradisera.
• The tender for the area received no bids.
• Ugo Tomaselli denounces a substantial exclusion.
• The Municipality points to the expired concession.

Key facts

• Location → field on Via Pradisera, Gallarate
• Club → Azalee Calcio
• President → Ugo Tomaselli
• Tender → no bids
• Athletics cage → nearly 25mila euro

Azalee Calcio announced on social media the return of the keys to the field on Via Pradisera, in Gallarate, after decades at the facility. The matter revolves around the tender for the concession of the area, which received no bids, but the two sides interpret it differently: the club speaks of being effectively ousted; the Municipality instead points to the expiry of the concession and the lack of conditions for a simple extension.

In the post published on social media, the club called the procedure improper and recalled its role in promoting women’s football, claiming to have made Gallarate known throughout Italy since 1980.

“After fifty years, we’re out,” sums up president Ugo Tomaselli.

The president explained that he had waited for the new tender while assessing the work needed to continue operations at the facility. The possibilities considered included replacing the floodlights with LED fixtures and resurfacing the grass pitch.

The tender and the required conditions

According to Tomaselli, the lack of participation was also due to the obligations imposed on the future concessionaire. Among the required works was a cage for athletics throwing events, whose cost the club estimated at nearly 25mila euro.

Until then, Atletica Gallaratese had used the spaces, paying Azalee sublease rent. Under the new arrangement, the structure would have had to be built. The president says that Atletica was unwilling to contribute and that Azalee could not bear the cost alone. The tender therefore received no bids.

After the bidding closed, the Municipality sent the club a Pec requesting the return of the facility. Tomaselli explained that neither requests for an extension nor the possibility of talks between the clubs had been enough to avoid the handover. The return of the keys therefore marks Azalee’s departure from the field on Via Pradisera, but leaves unresolved the dispute over management of the concession and the significance of the tender that received no bids.

Operational details

The Municipality's reconstruction starts from the facility's corporate history and does not coincide with that of Azalee. Mayor Andrea Cassani, who initially intervened by commenting on the post published by the company, distinguishes between the previous company awarded the concession and Azalee 1980, chaired by Ugo Tomaselli.

According to Cassani, the entity that today claims continuity with the Gallarate team would have a new corporate name and a new tax code. The transfer between the two companies, the mayor maintains, would never have been formally communicated to the Municipality. Azalee 1980 would have continued to play on the field on the basis of an agreement with the old company, but without an official communication to the administration.

Cassani also points to the financial situation of the previous management. According to what the mayor told VareseNews, the first company awarded the concession would have a debt crystallized as of 2023 amounting to 23,000 euros. The administration includes this figure in its own account of the dealings related to the facility.

The decisive point, however, remains the tender published to award the area. The mayor maintains that neither the old Azalee nor the new company took part in it. On the basis of this circumstance, he rejects the idea that the Municipality drove the team out: in the administration's view, the concessions had expired and no one had submitted a proposal to obtain the area again.

As for the extension, Cassani denies that it can be granted. Sports Councillor Claudia Mazzetti, by contrast, defends the Municipality's actions: she maintains that alternatives had been offered and that the situation had been explained clearly.

For the administration, the issue of the cage for athletics throwing events also remains open. Le Azalee had listed it among the obstacles to participating, since the project would have entailed an investment intended for another discipline. Cassani attributes the decision not to build it to the company and hypothesizes that, if the area is assigned again, the work could be the responsibility of another party.

The positions therefore remain far apart over the origin of the split. The company considers the request to hand back the area the outcome of an improper procedure; the Municipality links it to the expiry of the concession, the tender with no bids, and the absence of the conditions for an extension.

Key points

The rest of the story mainly concerns the continuity of the Azalee's sporting activities after leaving the field on via Pradisera. The club had two women's teams and a men's team. After the keys were handed back, president Tomaselli explained that only the men's team will play at Majno. As for training, however, a solution still needs to be found.

The consequence described by the club therefore concerns not only the availability of the facility, but also the possibility of keeping the various teams organized. The men's team has an indicated destination, while no arrangement has been found for training activities. The Azalee also lament the loss of the teams, directly linking the abandonment of the field to the difficulty of continuing the sporting project.

The closed field and the future of the area

Meanwhile, the historic football field remains padlocked. The return requested by the Municipality thus had an immediate effect on access to the facility, without the discussions between the clubs leading to the extension requested by the Azalee or to the opening of the meeting proposed by the president.

From an administrative standpoint, the Municipality confirms that the concession cannot be extended. The future of the area is thus tied to a new award, mentioned by Cassani as the possibility through which another party could build the cage needed for athletics throwing events. The work therefore remains associated with the subsequent management of the facility and not with the continuation of the Azalee's activities.

The situation leaves two distinct aspects open. On the one hand, there is the management of the area, which received no offers in the tender and has the field closed. On the other hand, there is sporting continuity, which for the Azalee means moving the men's team to Majno and seeking spaces for training. The source does not describe a new concessionaire or an already defined solution for the women's teams. The firm point, instead, is the one indicated by the Municipality: no extension for the expired concession and the prospect that any new concessionaire could take care of the athletics facility.

Source: varesenews.it