Italian Serie B football club Cagliari has been given the green light to build a new 21,000-capacity stadium.

Yesterday (6 April), Cagliari City Council approved the declaration of public interest for the proposal which will see a new ground constructed in the Sardinian city by 2019. The club is ploughing €55m (£44.5m, US$62.6m) into the project and is hoping to sell the stadium’s naming rights.

Club president Tommaso Giulini thanked the mayor and councillors for studying the proposal with “commitment and professionalism”.

According to a statement made on the Cagliari Calcio website, the project will “focus on the area, sport and fans” and will be built to “the highest standards of service, safety and environmental friendliness”.

The club’s current Sant’Elia stadium is due to be demolished in May 2017 and the new structure will include shops, bars, a gym, a physiotherapy centre, a martial arts studio, football pitches, and courts for basketball, tennis and volleyball.

Polish architectural studio JSK Architekci are behind the design.