Bluenergy Stadium in Udine Announced as Host for 2025 UEFA Super Cup | OneFootball

Most football fans have heard of the great Italian stadiums like the San Siro and the Stadio Olimpico, which are two of the most iconic football arenas in the world. While those behemoths of history are typically the first to come to mind when thinking about Italian football, occasionally other stadiums also get the chance to step out of their shadows.

The perfect case in point is the Stadio Friuli, the home of Udinese. The stadium, which is located around 4 km from the heart of Udine, claimed a big honour recently when UEFA announced that it would be the venue for the 2025 Super Cup, an annual one-off match between the UEFA Champions League and Europa League winners.

The high-profile match, which is always popular with bettors for football odds, will be played on Wednesday, August 13th 2025, and it is a big honour for the venue, and a momentous occasion for the city as well.  It will be the first UEFA Super Cup to be held in Italy since 1996.

Redevelopment

The Stadio Friuli (known as the Bluenergy Stadium for sponsorship purposes), is set to get a renovation soon. In early December 2024, the city council gave its seal of approval to an ambitious redevelopment plan.

Looking to the future, the Stadio Friuli 2.0 will become much more than just a football stadium, but an asset for sports, commerce and culture in Udine. Restaurants, hotels, retailers, technology outlets, pharmacies, a swimming pool, a sports museum, a music school and a concert venue are, among other things, part of the plan for updating the entire area.

The History of the Stadio Friuli

The Stadio Friuli was opened in 1976 so isn’t that old. It was a modern replacement for the outdated multi-use Stadio Moretti. The Moretti was a unique stadium as it had an oval dirt track running around the outside of the pitch, designed to host speedway races. The stadium never had electric lighting, forcing Udinese to play evening games elsewhere, before they permanently moved into the newly built Stadio Friuli in the 1970s.

Previous Renovations

The Stadio Friuli has already undergone two previous renovations, one in 1990 and a second one which was completed in 2016. The current capacity of the Stadio Friuli is 25,000 and this is something that has gone backwards.

The venue used to have a capacity of more than 41,000, but that was chopped back to its current official number of 25,144 after being reopened fully in 2016 following reconstruction. During the three years of work, Udinese carried on playing there, and their first game at their redeveloped home was against Juventus in early 2016.

Those most recent changes to the stadium were dramatic, as the athletics track was removed, and three sides of the stadium were demolished. New stadiums were rebuilt closer to the pitch, all for a total cost of around €50m, which is far less than what a current top player would command in the transfer market.

FIFA World Cup Matches

The venue is actually no stranger to big matches. That’s because the Stadio Friuli was awarded three matches for the 1990 FIFA World Cup. Those were all matches from Group E, which were Uruguay vs Spain, South Korea vs Spain and South Korea vs Uruguay.

The hosting duties were a big milestone for the Stadio Friuli, as it really boosted the profile of the arena. While Udine missed out on the chance to host Italy at the tournament, it would finally get to do so 18 years later.

In September 2008, the Stadio Friuli hosted an Italian national side match for the first time. That was a game in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, with the Azzurri beating Georgia 2-0 thanks to a brace from Daniele De Rossi. In total, the Stadio Friuli has hosted four Italy games.

Other Big Moments

As well as getting the approval to host UEFA Champions matches in 2005, hosting the 2019 UEFA Under-21 Championship Final, and a 2009 rugby match between Italy and then reigning world champions South Africa, there have been other big moments in the Stadio Friuli’s timeline. Pope John Paul II hosted a holy mass there in 1992 and bands like Pink Floyd, AC/DC and Metallica have played the stadium over the years.

Looking Forward

The modern and innovative Stadio Friuli will now get another chance to shine. In August 2025 it will again be able to express itself at the highest level of football, potentially giving it further status to host even more future big matches.