The Stadio Franco Ossola (also called Luigi Ganna Velodrome) is a sports stadium

Stadium

A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...

 and velodrome

Velodrome

A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights...

 currently in use by the football team A.S. Varese 1910

A.S. Varese 1910

A.S. Varese 1910 is an Italian football club from Varese, founded 22 March 1910. It currently plays in Serie B, ranked one division below Serie A in the Italian football league.-History:...

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Constructed in 1925, and originally named the Stadio del Littorio, the stadium was renamed in September 1950 in memory of Franco Ossola, an American Italian from Varese

Varese

Varese is a town and comune in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 55 km north of Milan.It is the capital of the Province of Varese. The hinterland or urban part of the city is called Varesotto.- Geography :...

 and player for Torino F.C.

Torino F.C.

Torino Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Torino, is a professional Italian football club based in Turin, Piedmont, that was founded in 1906. The club has spent most of its history in the top tier in Italian football....

 who died in 1949 in the Superga air disaster

Superga air disaster

The Superga air disaster took place on Wednesday, 4 May 1949, when a plane carrying almost the entire Torino A.C. football squad, popularly known as Il Grande Torino, crashed into the hill of Superga near Turin killing all 31 aboard including 18 players, club officials, journalists accompanying the...

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The cycling track was used for the UCI Track Cycling World Championships

UCI Track Cycling World Championships

The UCI Track Cycling World Championships are the set of world championship events for the various disciplines and distances in track cycling and are regulated by the Union Cycliste Internationale...

 in 1971 and is named after Luigi Ganna

Luigi Ganna

Luigi Ganna was an Italian professional road racing cyclist. The highlight of his career was his overall win in the first Giro d'Italia, held in 1909.He was born in Induno Olona, near Varese, in Lombardy....

, the winner of the first Giro d'Italia

Giro d'Italia

The Giro d'Italia , also simply known as The Giro, is a long distance road bicycle racing stage race for professional cyclists held over three weeks in May/early June in and around Italy. The Giro is one of the three Grand Tours , and is part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...

 in 1909

1909 Giro d'Italia

The 1909 Giro d'Italia of cycling was the first ever Giro, organised by La Gazzetta dello Sport . The race started in Milan on 13 May 1909, and finished in the same city on 30 May, after 8 stages...

, who was born in nearby Induno Olona

Induno Olona

Induno Olona is a town and comune in Italy, in north-western Lombardy, 60 km north of Milan, in the Province of Varese. It has a population, in 2007, of c. 10,200....

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Originally, the stadium could accommodate up to 23,000 spectators, but the capacity has been reduced to comply with safety standards, so much so that now the north stand, which houses the home fans, is not usable.

In recent years, plans have been drawn up to create a new 10,000 seater stadium to replace the existing one.