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U.S. group could buy Cagliari

Cagliari could be playing in a new state-of-the-art 35,000-seater stadium within four years, according to a project announced by an anonymous investment group from the United States interested in buying the Serie A club.

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A spokesman for the group, whose identity has been kept secret, unveiled the plans for a new stadium, modelled on Munich's Allianz Arena, which he says could be built in time for the 2017-18 season on the site of the current Stadio Sant'Elia.

"It will be a stadium that can serve as a model for the whole of Europe," Luca Silvestrone, who is representing the US group, said in the Corriere dello Sport.

Cagliari are currently owned by Massimo Cellino, who has recently made headlines in England after battling to take over Leeds United despite the Football League initially blocking his takeover attempt.

Silvestrone added: "We are going to meet with Massimo Cellino soon because my mandate regards both the club and the stadium. We could not move any further without a response from the city council anyway because we had to be certain. We've been studying the situation for a long time and one of the reasons the investors are convinced about it is because Cagliari have healthy finances."

The project has already been presented to the city of Cagliari, and received initial approval.

"The city will now analyse the plans in detail. We have agreed to meet again in June to discuss the roadmap which could lead to work starting by 2015 with completion by 2017," Silvestrone added.

The blueprint for a new stadium, which was presented on Wednesday, includes the construction of shops, hotels and potentially an Olympic size swimming pool. Solar panels will cover the roof while wind turbines will also be built, ensuring the stadium is self-sufficient in terms of energy.

The identity of the group "should be revealed in a matter of days," according to Silvestrone.