In November 2009 the Italian Baseball and Softball Federation (FIBS) announced that a new Baseball and Softball facility would be build in Rome. A few weeks later the newly elected IBAF President Riccardo Fraccari revealed that he hopes to bring a Major League Baseball opening day or spring training games to the Italy.
On Thursday the project ballpark in Rome hopefully made another step towards that goal. The city council of the Italian capital has approved construction of the stadium, which is designed by architect Santiago Calatrava. They are now going to identify an area in Tor Vergata to build it there. In November the FIBS had stated to build the ballpark at the “Parco delle Sabine” in Bufalotta. Tor Vergata and its “Citta dello Sport” originally was a center piece of the 2004 Olympics bid by Rome.
According to the city press release the FIBS will be responsible for the finances of the project. Additionally the statement says that the headquarters of the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) would be moved from Lausanne, Switzerland to the new complex in Rome.