Bicocca University renovates sports center in Milan

High-tech equipment for university and recreational sports

Bicocca University is a young, state university founded in 1998 with its main campuses in Milan and Monza. In the 1990s, the University of Milan experienced a significant growth in student population, reaching around 90,000 students, and a decision was made to establish a new campus. The district of Bicocca in northern Milan, once home to major industries like Pirelli, became the location for the new campus. The university campus is part of a large-scale redevelopment project initiated in 1986 and coordinated by architect Vittorio Gregotti. He designed the campus as an urban complex with research laboratories and student dormitories. Today, 21 university buildings are located in the Bicocca district, while the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery is situated in Monza. Only a stone's throw away from the university lies the newly renovated Bicocca Stadium. Covering 58,000 m2, it features a full-sized football/rugby field, an athletics track, a stand with 400 seats, 12 changing rooms, a medical station, and office spaces. Additional facilities include small football fields and tennis courts. With over 100 years of history, the sports center was first opened in 1919 as 'Campo Pirelli' and was most recently renamed upon renovation in 2019. The new Bicocca sports center was designed primarily for students but is explicitly open to all residents of Milan. The renovation was part of the university’s initiative to promote university sports. Along with the football field and athletics track, the stands and changing rooms underwent complete renovation. A center for sports medicine was also added. The university’s commitment to technological innovation is reflected in the sports facilities. Bicocca’s athletics track is the first in Italy equipped with our SmarTrack technology for professional performance diagnostics. Invisible magnetic timing gates, known as SmarTracks Timing Gates, are integrated into the track. When paired with a small sensor worn by athletes, the system enables precise time measurement and comprehensive training diagnostics. Data such as running time, speed, stride length and frequency, as well as jump height, are recorded and can be analyzed on a laptop with the corresponding software. Recreational athletes can also benefit from this technology, as the 'Smart Run by Humotion' app allows them to use the diagnostics via their smartphones. Top training results are further supported by the red professional sports flooring Rekortan M, which features excellent acceleration and elasticity properties for achieving new personal bests. It also provides outstanding damping qualities, beneficial for sports medicine. For the football and rugby field, Bicocca chose our LigaTurf RS+ CoolPlus synthetic turf system in vibrant 'green bicolor'—the number one in professional football worldwide, boasting the highest number of FIFA Quality Pro certifications. Superior playing quality is further ensured by the environmentally friendly infill granulate EPDM ECO. With renovations coinciding with its 100th anniversary, the stadium, originally inaugurated by Alberto Pirelli, is once again a vital hub for student training and, moreover, for the Milanese community.