The new Tortona Sports Citadel is a multifunctional sport center of excellent and a symbol of innovation and community, at the service of Derthona Basket teams and its citizens. Construction works involved the use of an elastic, resin-based system to create the outdoor sport surfaces and of a cycle of finishing products to paint and protect the indoor wood floors.
A well designed, functional architectural complex with spaces for basketball, tennis, gymnastics, offices, restaurants, gardens and parkland. An infrastructure at the service of the local Derthona Basket team, backed by Mapei as Exclusive Sponsor, which in just a few years rose from Serie B to Serie A and became protagonists of the LBA championship and Champions League, as well as the entire local community.
2025 was the year in which the Tortona Sports Citadel, dedicated to the businessmen Marcellino and Pietro Gavio who were behind its construction, became fully operational. Located in a strategic position, it occupies an area of around 70,000 m2 with spaces dedicated to sporting activities, along with dining facilities, an information centre and areas for leisure activities in general, as well as a carpark.
The Arena is one of the features of the complex and has several multi-functional courts and areas for different recreational activities. Built with a focus on sustainability, the entire sports complex is equipped with a centralised air/water heat pump system with low GWP (Global Warming Potential) with the capacity to generate thermal energy from renewable sources to heat the complex during the winter and keep it cool during the summer.
Mapei is Exclusive Sponsor of Bertram Derthona Basket that trains at Tortona Sports Citadel.
The jewel in the crown: the Arena
The focal point of the work is the 5000-seat Arena: equipped with only the best equipment, it features a central removable basketball court. It serves mainly for the home matches of the Derthona Basket team, but can also be used for shows and concerts thanks to the 5,200 m2 roof with a diameter of 80 m. Access for fans is via the ground floor which connects seamlessly with the exterior by means of a series of entrances running through the green areas all around the Arena. The access paths then continue inside the Arena in a continuous ring, with various shops and other services alongside. It is from here that fans can access the stands with the possibility of reaching the first or second ring by means of vertical connecting routes.
The adjacent building houses practice courts, offices, a well-equipped gym and a Sports Assessment Centre covered with mirrors and with glass parapets, creating the effect of an almost invisible building. The building consists of a ground floor which, apart from practice courts and the gym, is where the changing rooms are located, and an upper level with the Derthona headquarters, offices and team meeting rooms.
The outdoor playgrounds were coated with Mapecoat TNS Comfort FT elastic multilayer system.
Thanks to the highly specialised portfolio of solutions for sports facilities, Mapei was involved in the project, particularly the construction of the arena, the training court and the coating for two outdoor playgrounds.
For the construction of the concrete structure, Mapei collaborated with Heidelberg Materials to identify the most suitable concrete mix design to meet the specific requirements of the site. To formulate the concrete to build the structure Dynamon Xtend W202 N acrylic superplasticiser was added to the concrete mix while the acrylic-based superplasticisers Dynamon Floor 14 and Dynamon Floor 20 were used to create high quality concrete floors, with the latter employed during the summer.
Mapefill Zero* fluid mortar and Mapefill MF 610 expansive grout were used to anchoring and grout the pillars.
The external walls in the guest area were treated with Malech primer to act as an adhesion promoter for the following coat of protective, flexible Elastocolor Paint.
The coating for the exterior walls for the Arena was created by applying, again, Malech primer, followed by Colorite Beton semi-transparent, anti-carbonation acrylic paint. This product was specifically chosen to maintain the “natural finish” effect of the concrete and, at the same time, homogenise its colour.
As for surfaces that needed to be skimmed, Planitop 210 was used for the on the external stairway, Planitop 530 for the walls and ceilings and Porocol FF was used for the surfaces of the plant rooms where the heating and electrical equipment is housed.
To seal gaps and breaks between construction features, it was recommended to use self-expanding Mapepur Universal Foam M.
Topcem Pronto screed mortar mixed with Mapefibre ST30 polymer fibres, instead of traditional steel reinforcement, was proposed for the screeds in some of the bathrooms. Planitop Smooth & Repair Zero* mortar was used to quickly smooth over surface defects in cast concrete.
The elastic, multi-layered Mapecoat TNS Comfort FT system allowed the creation of outdoor playgrounds characterised by high mechanical properties and high resistance to wear.
Inside the Citadel and the Arena, a number of floors were created using Mapei products, starting with those for sporting activities. Two outdoor playgrounds (total surface area 1,400 m2) were created using the elastic, multi-layered Mapecoat TNS Comfort FT system, characterised by high mechanical properties and high resistance to wear, UV rays and inclement weather conditions. In this specific case, because of residual moisture in the cementitious substrates, they were initially treated with Triblok P primer and Mapecoat TNS Primer EPW, followed by a layer of Mapecomfort R granular rubber mat (thickness 4 mm) for sports surfaces bonded with Ultrabond Sport adhesive. Work continued by applying Mapecoat TNS Extreme rapid-drying epoxy-acrylic coloured topcoating (in the colours 28 blue Melbourne and 15 blue Sea) and then Mapecoat TNS Extreme SF finish in the same colours.
The lines for the courts were marked out with Mapecoat TNS Line Tex White.
A resin coating was recommended for the floors and stairs in the Arena by applying the multi-layered, polyurethane Mapefloor Parking System ID cycle. Ideal for flooring open to vehicle traffic, it is resistant to mechanical loads and stresses, is highly durable, has a non-slip finish, is easy to maintain and enables seamless, flat surfaces with a highly aesthetic impact to be created. The system is made up of Primer SN, Mapefloor PU 410, Mapefloor Finish 415, Quartz 0.5 and Quartz 0.25 and Mapecolor Paste. Resin floors were also created in the bathrooms by applying Mapecoat I 600W primer, Mapecoat I 24 paint, Mapefloor Finish 59 W and Mapeflex PU 45 FT sealant to seal the fillets.
In the gym, on the other hand, the substrates in the bathrooms were treated with Mapelastic AquaDefense liquid waterproofing membrane. In the guest area and communal areas of the gym, ceramic tiles were installed using the adhesives Keraflex Extra S1 Zero* and Adesilex P8 while joints were grouted with Ultracolor Plus.
The multi-layered, polyurethane Mapefloor Parking System ID cycle was applied on the stairs in the interiors of the complex.
A reliable, safe and approved system for the parquet basketball court
Inside the Cittadella dello Sport, the main arena stands out on the outside for its cylindrical shape and the size of it, which is larger than the other buildings. The interior has all the equipment and facilities necessary to allow athletes to practice sports at a high level and to allow the public, which can reach 5000 spectators, to comfortably attend training sessions and national and international events, even Gold 1 category events.
The Bertram Derthona Basket team prepares on the parquet basketball court in the arena. For this reason, it was necessary to create a wooden surface that would guarantee excellent playing comfort and ensure the athletes' safety during sports practice. The finishing work was carried out by ADISPORT, a company with many years of experience and an international benchmark for the production, distribution, installation and finishing of quality wooden flooring used for sports.
The work involved the application of a complete cycle of Mapei products for varnishing parquet floors. First, the Ultracoat Renew FL primer was applied. The use of this primer, which can be applied on parquet treated with UV-resistant or oil-based finish, or with solvent or water based varnishes, helps to avoid the generation of dust and reduce application time.
Ultracoat Sport Color was then applied, a water-based, one-component acrylic-based coloured paint, with which it was possible to mark out the playing areas, also thanks to its excellent covering, adhesion and levelling properties.
Finally, for the finishing of parquet surfaces, Ultracoat HT Sport was chosen, a two-component polyurethane varnish that is able to meet all the requirements of wooden floors in indoor sports facilities, as demonstrated by its compliance with all the standards that regulate sports flooring. Its surface hardness and high mechanical and chemical resistance make Ultracoat HT Sport the ideal solution for finishing wooden floors used for basketball, volleyball, roller skating, five-a-side football and dance in gyms and other sports facilities.
When, as in this case, Ultracoat HT Sport is used together with Ultracoat Sport Color (or Ultracoat Premium Base), the Mapei product cycle is approved by FIBA, the International Basketball Federation, for the creation of safe, high-performance and long-lasting playing surfaces.
The finishing work on the parquet basketball court involved the application of a complete cycle of Mapei products including Ultracoat Renew FL, Ultracoat Sport Color and Ultracoat HT Sport. Credit: Gestione Cittadella Srl.
An important part of the work carried out using Mapei products involved the spectator stands (approx. 600 m2), where Eco Prim T Plus universal acrylic primer was applied on all the substrates, along with Nivorapid smoothing compound. The next step was to apply a cycle to protect surfaces with high footfall consisting of Mapecoat TNS Primer EPW, Mapecoat TNS Fast and Mapecoat TNS Protection.
Mapefloor Parking System IDwas again used for the external stairways exiting the Arena.
Amongst the numerous interventions and products used there were also Plastimul, Plastimul High Flex and Plastimul Primer to waterproof the foundation walls before they were backfilled.
Several products were also supplied by Vaga (a subsidiary of Mapei Group) and were used, respectively, in the renders, to build small reinforced concrete elements and for creating some of the screeds.
The surfaces on the spectator stands were protected with a complete resin-based system including Mapecoat TNS Primer EPW, Mapecoat TNS Fast and Mapecoat TNS Protection.
Marcellino and Pietro Gavio Sports Citadel, Tortona (Alessandria)
Period of construction: 2021-2025
Year of intervention: 2023
Design: Studio Barreca & La Varra
Owner: Appia Srl
Works director: Stefano Rossi
Site manager: Alessandro Taverna
Main contractor: Codelfa SpA
Mapei coordinators: Andrea Pillepich and Renato Botteri
Photos: Derthona Basket, Simone D’Addazio (Kondoo Video Production)
Two outdoor playgrounds were created by using the elastic, multi-layered Mapecoat TNS Comfort FT system.
