Yesterday, at the end of the match won by Akademia Sant’Anna against Club Italia, as announced, a press conference was held by the top management of the Peloritana club to talk about the future of the club, especially regarding the use of the PalaRescifina and the programming of the 2026/27 season.
President Fabrizio Costantino, alongside deputy Caselli, lamented the difficulty in relations with the municipal administration of Messina, not in the ever-constant dialogue with councilor Massimo Finocchiaro specifically, but in the actual possibility of having clarity on the use of the facility, which during the season is used for other purposes, generating difficulties for the Akademia in finding structural alternatives to carry out its activities.
During the Negramaro concert the club moved to the gym of the University Citadel at its own expense, however receiving reassurances from Palazzo Zanca regarding the finding of other solutions for subsequent similar situations. But for a martial arts event and the Tyrrhenian Rally the Akademia had to move to Furci. And then lastly Elodie’s concert.
“We have nothing against these events, in fact we admit the skill of the Municipality – said Costantino -, we only ask that we be put in the conditions to be able to carry out the activities and be competitive. We have been waiting for a discussion on prospects from the mayor Federico Basile for a long time but we are unable to get to the point. The market and marketing plan for next season will start shortly for us, we are not used to reducing ourselves once the championship is over, so we would like to understand if we are still welcome. Otherwise we will make other choices. Given the condition we are in we should say goodbye and go elsewhere, but we still hope to have the answers we were looking for. We said a few weeks ago that we would start looking around and we will. There is not much time also because a possible transition would also involve federal changes. The interest is not only ours, but that of the city which does not make a great impression on the image with the athletes and the volleyball world without this clarity. There would already be some entities in the Tyrrhenian province ready to welcome the Akademia. Who also disputed between the lines the difference in treatment with other sporting realities.
At the announcement of the conference on the topic, Councilor Finocchiaro had commented on the matter as follows, through his own channels: “It is sad to have to learn these further statements which accuse us of a lack of dialogue, since we have always committed ourselves to maintaining a collaborative approach and when critical issues have arisen we have always sought shared solutions that can respond both to the needs of the Akademia sports club and to the well-being of Sport in general and of the entire local community. Our initiatives aim to build a positive environment and facilitate constructive dialogue, aware that the success of sporting activities depends on close cooperation between all parties involved. In this spirit of openness and collaboration, we invite the representatives of the Akademia company to continue the discussion and the path undertaken over time and to organize any further meetings, convinced that by working together we can overcome any critical issues and guarantee a prosperous future for sport in our city and achieve results that can satisfy everyone”.
How will the matter end? Will the Akademia remain in Messina or continue elsewhere (Patti)?