The Palasport Fondo Patti was

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

's main sports arena from 1999 until 2008, when it was closed because of severe damages suffered after a heavy storm. Its name derives from the neighbourhood in Palermo where it was built, located in the Palermitan suburb Partanna Mondello on via dell'Olimpo.

History

The venue was realised by the Italian architect

Manfredi Nicoletti Manfredi Nicoletti (16 June 1930 – 29 October 2017) was an Italian architect. Biography Nicoletti is considered a pioneer in Bioclimatic urban and architectural design. In the 1970s his book ''L'ecosistema urbano'' (The Urban Ecosystem) - a t ...

, and was inaugurated on 3 October 1999. It had a seating capacity of 5,500 to 6,000 depending on its use, and an adjacent car parking for 500 cars. In March 2008, following a heavy storm that hit the city, the arena's roof was severely damaged, causing a damage in excess of €200,000. Due to lack of funding by the Municipality of Palermo the venue was left abandoned. Over the years, the complete neglect as well as vandalism, such as an arson in 2010, have made the area completely inaccessible. Costs to repair the structure have risen from the original €200,000 to over €1 million. In April 2014 the City of Palermo has announced its commitment to renovate and reopen the Palasport Fondo Patti. Renovations were due to last for one year at an estimated cost of €1.2 million, which would also include renovation of the nearby baseball stadium Diamante Fondo Patti, another sports venue left to decay since its opening in 1998. The official reopening of the venues has been pushed back to 2016, however, as of summer 2015 no work on any of the sports venues has begun. In December 2014 local media reported that the City of Palermo was being sued by a local family for the illegitimate expropriation of their land in the late 1990s - the site where the Palasport Fondo Patti was built on. In an out of court settlement, the City of Palermo agreed to pay €13 million in damages to the family.http://palermo.gds.it/2014/12/05/il-comune-di-palermo-deve-pagare-13-milioni-per-il-terreno-dove-sorge-il-palasport_274022/ Italian article: City of Palermo forced to pay €13 million for sports arena site

Music at Palasport Fondo Patti

During its heyday the Palasport hosted also many non-sportive events. Below is an incomplete list of some of the artists who have performed at the Palasport. * 1998:

Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and choreographer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli is among a rare group of performers awarded an Emmy, Grammy ...

(opening gala at the nearby baseball stadium, Diamante Fondo Patti) * 2000: Claudio Baglioni * 2002:

Giorgia Giorgia is the Italian cognate of the female name Georgia. Notable people with the name include: Arts and entertainment *Giorgia (singer), Italian singer, born ''Giorgia Todrani'' *Giorgia Fumanti, Italian-Canadian soprano and singer of operatic po ...

;

Zucchero Adelmo Fornaciari (; born 25 September 1955), more commonly known by his stage name Zucchero Fornaciari or simply Zucchero (), is an Italian singer, musician and songwriter. His stage name is the Italian word for "sugar", as his elementary teach ...

* 2003: Luciano Ligabue;

Notre-Dame de Paris Notre-Dame de Paris (; meaning "Our Lady of Paris"), referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the Seine River), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral, dedicated to the ...

(Musical) * 2005: Elisa;

Jovanotti Lorenzo Cherubini (; born 27 September 1966), better known as Jovanotti (), is an Italian singer-songwriter, rapper and disc jockey. The name Jovanotti derives from ''giovanotti'', the plural form of the Italian word ''giovanotto'' ("young man") ...

* 2006: Antonello Venditti; Claudio Baglioni * 2007:

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Ori ...

; Elisa; Max Pezzali * 2008: Gianna Nannini; Subsonica;

; Antonello Venditti

References

{{reflist
Sports venues in Palermo Basketball venues in Italy