The “Corrado Roma” Sports Hall, abbreviated to PalaRoma, is the great Arena of Montesilvano.
The PalaRoma was built around 1998. On December 19, 2004, the sports hall in via Settimo Torinese was named in memory of Corrado Roma, a five-a-side football player and coach in A1, but also a capable entrepreneur and exemplary father.
On January 28, 2005 the roof of the sports facility collapsed due to the weight of the snow that had accumulated. . When the roof collapsed, fortunately, the plant was closed but only by chance. At that time, in fact, the Serie A 5-a-side football match was to take place, but Montesilvano was playing on a neutral field due to the disqualification of the field. All the restoration works were completed within just 4 months, from the opening of the works.
In addition to the refurbishment of the wooden roof and masterfully performed with cutting-edge materials and energy-saving light points, the internal structure has been arranged with an anti-fall wooden parquet that softens the blow thanks to a shock-absorbing recycled material. The new structure does not rest on the previous system, which instead has the sole function of container. The capacity of the building is 1,540 seats, inside there are numerous changing rooms, closets, meeting rooms and bathrooms. The facility is compliant with the law for the disabled who will have reserved seats.
The PalaRoma is not the only covered structure in the city of Montesilvano, but it is certainly the most important for the municipality, but also for the region, but above all for Italian futsal. In 2011 the UEFA Futsal Cup final was played in this arena, won by Montesilvano Ca5 against the very strong Sporting Club de Portugal.
The PalaRoma is a facility entirely dedicated to futsal (or 5-a-side football), with its side stands able to accommodate a typical audience of major events.
The parquet on the pitch is perfect; it is possible to use indoor and outdoor game shoes with the same effectiveness. The escape routes make the development of the match safe, safeguarding the safety of the players on the pitch.
The structure has a well-stocked bar, which welcomes guests and makes their stay at the sports facility more pleasant.
The sports hall in via Settimo Torinese, the PalaRoma, was named after Corrado Roma, a five-a-side football player and coach in A1, but also a capable entrepreneur and an exemplary father. At 12.12 the mayor Enzo Cantagallo discovered the plaque: an indelible mark in the memory of Montesilvano. Present were Corrado’s wife, Mrs. Roberta Di Vincenzo, children Antonio, Andrea and Rossella, parents Germana and Antonio, sister Anna, brother Massimiliano. And then relatives, friends, people who had known Corrado and had appreciated his human and professional skills.
The mayor of Montesilvano declares: “An example for everyone, this was Corrado”.
Light and strong words those of Mrs. Roberta: “We thank everyone and the Municipality for the availability, affection and attention shown on the occasion of this event”.
HIS CAREER
As a player Corrado Roma was a talented young man with an edgy character; he was a freeman with a good vision of the game. Trained in the youth sector of Pescara and Sambenedettese, he played football up to the age of twenty-five with the Chieti shirt with which he played in a Serie C2 championship and four in Interregional, for a total of 118 league appearances (of which 16 in Serie C2) and 7 in the Italian cup with the neroverde shirt. In football he played another season in the Interregional championship with Rosetana in 1990-1991.
He landed in 5-a-side football by chance in 1987, during a national tournament that was held in the building in via Senna in Montesilvano. With a universal role, he was a pioneer of the discipline in Abruzzo as well as captain and flag of Pescara Calcio a 5 of miracles which included Luciano Arielli, Mario Patriarca, Gigi Marchionne and again Paolo and Massimo Marini, Paolo Pucci and Lorenzo Cesaroni. The innate tactical intelligence and an uncommon charisma led him to wear the national team jersey and therefore in recent seasons to combine the role of player with that of team coach.
Having abandoned football played in 1995, Corrado Roma continued his coaching activity in Pescara where he remained for seven consecutive seasons. With the Adriatic he reached in the 1999-00 season a surprising qualification for the quarter-finals of the scudetto play-offs, where they were eliminated by Genzano then graduated as Italian champion. The parenthesis in Abruzzo ended with his exoneration during the 2001-02 season, at the end of which Pescara relegated anyway after losing the play-outs against their cousins from CUS Chieti. However, Corrado Roma reached the best sporting results far from Abruzzo. In November 2002, he took over from Giorgio Zito on the bench of the famous BNL Ciampino, who, the protagonist of a rather disappointing start to the season, occupied the penultimate place in the standings. Despite the compromised situation, the coach instilled confidence in his own means to the team, overcoming the frictions of the dressing room headed by Júlio Romanini. Reached in extremis the qualification, in the championship play-offs the BNL eliminated Augusta in the first round and in the quarter-finals the highly rated Roma RCB, surrendering only in Race-3 of the semifinal against Lazio. The “miracle” accomplished at the helm of the bankers projected him in the following season to assume the technical guide of Roma RCB where he confirmed his technical and documentary preparation, however failing to reach the championship final after the double defeat in the semifinal remedied against the strong Arzignano Grifo. In October 2004 he was called by President Zarattini to replace the resigning Miguel Rodrigo on the Luparense bench, winning on his debut against his Montesilvano. With the Paduan team he collects 4 successes and one defeat before the stop of the championships due to the dispute of the FIFA 5-a-side football World Cup.
THE ACCIDENT
On the evening of 27 December 2004, after supporting a friendly match against Cesena in San Martino di Lupari, Corrado Roma was the victim of a violent road accident while traveling along the A14 motorway to return to his native Montesilvano where he lived with his wife and three children. . Around 10:45 pm, along the stretch between Pedaso and Grottammare, his Peugeot 206 convertible struck violently against the concrete New Jersey between the two carriageways, overturning in the opposite lane. The coach, caught between the sheets, was immediately transported from 118 to the hospital in San Benedetto del Tronto. During the night the doctors unnecessarily subjected him to three surgeries; Corrado Roma died the following morning. The tragedy deeply shook the world of national 5-a-side football, also because the Montesilvanese coach had recently been designated as the successor of Alessandro Nuccorini on the national team bench. The National team, engaged in those days in the FIFA 5-a-side football World Cup in Taipei, dedicated to him the 3-2 victory against Spain, while the complete teams of CUS Chieti, Luparense and Montesilvano attended the funeral. A few months later the municipal administration of Montesilvano named the sports hall after him which still bears his name.