President Niederauer’s press conference

After winning the Serie B Playoffs and gaining promotion to Serie A, President Duncan Niederauer held a press conference to take stock of the season that just ended and the club's future.

"It was a great season, and I want to thank first of all the team, the coach and the entire staff for the challenges they faced and overcame excellently. I also want to thank our partners and suppliers for the support they have shown us, it was only through everyone's commitment that we were able to win Serie A. Finally, I want to thank all our fans, 18 months ago we were in a very difficult situation and perhaps we did not even deserve their support. It is amazing to think how far we have come since then, this year the fans have supported us and pushed us toward the big dream that has come true for all of us.

The most significant moment of these days was seeing the many happy children proudly celebrating in St. Mark's Square with the team and all of us. We are happy that the younger generation is getting attached to the team, and we hope to attract them more and more as they grow up with us. I would also like to thank my wife Alison, she has been by my side and by the team's side every step of the way. The relationships we have built with the city, the fans and the players make us extremely proud and grateful, because we have put all of ourselves into this project. On Sunday night, the emotion was so strong, we hugged each other and cried together as we thought back on the journey of these past years.

Looking ahead to next season, we feel more ready than we did for last year's promotion to Serie A. Our goal is to keep most of this year's roster, without making the mistakes of the past. I can also say that a number of new members have already joined the company, many of whom were in Venice already this weekend to attend the game and to meet with me. I would like to specify that the entry of new partners allows us to have more flexibility and strength from an economic point of view and from a competence point of view. Some of these new partners will be directly involved in the management of the club with me, others will provide their expertise in different areas of the club such as sports area, brand, infrastructure and global sponsorship.

As for the technical sponsor, we have decided to proceed with a new partnership that we will present at the end of the summer, together with the new brand ambassador, at the launch of the 24/25 jerseys, all already designed by our team.

For the Penzo stadium, we have been asked to add 850-900 seats and the work will start soon. Compared to 3 years ago, there are fewer improvements to be made to the stadium, so we are confident that we will be able to play the first match in our stadium already. We are very grateful to A.C. Monza for the support they will give us in case of need.

Lastly, I want to congratulate Mayor Luigi Brugnaro for being at the forefront of the Sport Forest project. Venice and the Veneto region deserve a sports complex of this caliber. We are excited to see the progress of the work and look forward to the opportunity to present our proposal for the management of the new stadium.“