The Unipol Domus, formerly known as the “Sardegna Arena,” is the soccer stadium of the city of Cagliari. The stadium is located 3 km from the center of the city of Cagliari, on the tongue of land enclosed between the salt pans of Quartu and the waters of the Sardinia Channel. Located in the district of Nuovo Borgo Sant’Elia, it has been home to Cagliari Calcio’s home matches since the 2017-2018 season.
The stadium, originally known as “Sant’Elia,” was opened in 1970. The worsening state of obsolescence of the stadium led to its subsequent demolition, which began on March 10, 2015. In 2017, reconstruction work ended, and in September of that year a new temporary facility, named “Sardegna Arena,” was officially opened with a slightly larger capacity than before. In fact, the “Sant’Elia” could hold 16,000 people, while currently the stadium can accommodate as many as 16,416.
On July 24, 2021, Cagliari Calcio announced a 10-year partnership with the Unipol insurance group and the subsequent transfer of naming rights for both the temporary facility and the future permanent stadium. With that agreement, the stadium assumed the new name “Unipol Domus.” The name “Domus,” in Latin, recalls the concept of home, which the club has repeatedly evoked when talking about the place where matches are played, and also in Sardinian “domus” in the plural means “houses.” Once approved, the facility will be dismantled and rebuilt. The start date for demolition of the Sant’Elia stadium was set for the end of 2022, but as of today, everything is still at a standstill, so the Rossoblù club expects to play at the Unipol Domus until 2025.
The Unipol Domus stadium also houses the “Cagliari 1920 History&Gallery” museum, which opened in October 2017. Inside are exhibits of trophies, memorabilia, and valuable evidence from the past and present, telling the red and blue story with the help of anecdotes, explanatory posters, photos, and period videos. A dive into the history of the glorious red and blue past, starting in 1920, when surgeon Gaetano Fichera gave birth to Cagliari and when the red and blue, in white shirts, played the first game in their history at the “Stallaggio Meloni.” The museum itinerary includes two routes, one “Red” and one “Blue.”
The museum offers a chance to remember, through videos, some of the most significant matches in Cagliari’s history. Among the highlights are: the 1969-70 Scudetto; the jersey of Gigi Riva, nicknamed “Rombo di Tuono,” worn in Torino-Cagliari 0-4, the last day of the 1969-70 championship; historic jerseys such as those of Nenè and Gigi Piras.
